Teach Kids To Be Smart, And Don’t Start, When It Comes To Tobacco And Nicotine

While it is sometimes hard to imagine, the use of most tobacco and nicotine products primarily begins during adolescence. From smoking combustible cigarettes, to vaping with e-cigarettes, to using smokeless tobacco products, the age children are being introduced to these highly addictive products is getting drastically younger. With November serving as Tobacco Awareness Month and the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout® on November 18, it really is the perfect time to start a conversation with your child about the effects of tobacco or nicotine use.

For 27 years, the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® program have been providing hands-on education to children, ages 4- to 13-years old, on various safety-related topics. However, in recent years, developing educational resources on emerging issues impacting the overall health and wellness of children has become a top priority including curriculum on mental well-being and stress management, healthy lifestyles, and vaping. Key messages focus on teaching youth participants about taking care of both their physical and mental health; and equipping them to make healthy choices.   

According to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Smoke and Health: 

• Each day in the United States, approximately 1,600 youth smoke their first cigarette and nearly 200 youth start smoking every day.

• Flavorings in tobacco or nicotine products can make them more appealing to youth. In 2020, 85% of high school students and 74% of middle school students who used tobacco products in the past 30 days reported using a flavored tobacco product during that time.

• The U.S. Surgeon General has declared e-cigarette use among youth an epidemic, with rates increasing 78% from 2017 to 2018 among high school students and more teens using e-cigarettes than combustible cigarettes.

While smoking may be glamorized in movies, television shows, and even online, parents and guardians are the most important influences in a child's life. Never assume your child will learn from someone else. Here are some additional prevention strategies to help keep your children from using tobacco and nicotine products: 

1. Set a good example by being tobacco-free and ensure that your child is not exposed to the secondhand emissions from any tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. 

2. Establish a smoke-free policy in your home and ensure that events your children attend are smoke-free as well.

3. Talk to your children as early as 5 or 6 years of age and keep the conversation going throughout high school. Discuss scenarios and share ways to refuse a cigarette, e-cigarette, or smokeless tobacco, like snuff or snus. 

4. It’s never too late to quit. Parents and guardians who smoke are more likely to have children who smoke. 

The “Safety Day Corner” is a safety message by the Progressive Agriculture Foundation® (PAF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, with the mission to provide education, training, and resources to make farm, ranch, and rural life safer and healthier for all children and their communities. Recognized as the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North American, the Foundation’s Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® program, has reached more than 1.8 million youth – and counting – since the program’s inception in 1995. For more information about PAF and its programs, visit: www.progressiveag.org.