’Should I stop smoking? Whaaat, you kidding? Who’s afraid of tobacco? Everyone wants to be successful in whatever they do, so leave me alone, I can never stop it!’ Look around you, many youngsters will arrogantly say those words.
In fact, they wish to compete with their peers by puffing cigarettes, the more a day, the more is their’success’. I remember when I was a kid, I saw my elder brother used to imitate Clint Eastwood in front of his mirror by holding a cigarette-shape chocolate between his lips with hands on his waist. I am very very sure that Shahrukh Khan must have had his own icons too nowadays. If only you knew, that there can be only one star in the’story of your life’ - YOU! Yesss, YOU. Once you accept that you are unique, you’ll find all your steps leading towards your goal automatically. YOU will have to say NO to tobacco.
Tobacco, alas has become the second major cause of death in the world. This tendency can reach around 10 million deaths each year by next 15 years. DETOX now! Our children of TODAY will become VICTIMS tomorrow!
’I smoke, thus am a MAN’ - this slogan is widely boasted among young guys who have just reached the age of puberty. If we have got a son, we have to worry. Obviously none of us want our child hooks on smoking, but we all know it CAN happen. Today I realise that how many parents are anxious, and soon we can lose the entire generation if proper steps are not taken in time.
Our children have become escapists because they lack guidance and praises not only from their parents but from their friends as well. Teens with low self-esteem easily submit to peer pressure. In some houses, the adolescent is left alone while the parents are working. Parents do not realise that this stage of development for children is critical. As such, these’abandoned’ kids turn to their so-called friends for direction, their’guru’. We know very well that the peers cannot provide the guidance needed.
SOME STEPS WHICH CAN HELP TO AVOID TOBACCO:
Educate at home: We all know education starts from the cradle itself. The line of communication between a kid and his parents need to be clear and open. Children are not getting all the facts from school since the tobacco industry does not show you all the statistics, and all the people who are sick from tobacco abuse and students will never listen to their teachers who are already smokers. most will say’practice what you preach’. So, parents have to take an active interest in teaching their child about the harmful effects of tobacco or any other drugs.
Show and tell: Show the FACTS of cigarettes to the kids and educate yourself either from hand-outs, magazines, internet and pictures of tobacco disasters.
Strike when they are young: Anti-tobacco education should begin as early as possible - may be at 5 years, or I’ll say at 4 years. At a young age children are very receptive to your teachings and are able to grasp basic concepts about cigarettes. As a society or a nation we share values which are formed in the early part of our lives. If you wait until your children reach adolescence to discuss tobacco, it may be too late.
Don’t lecture: When talking to your children about cigarette abuse, start the discussion casually, perhaps while watching TV together or travelling in the car. Avoid to be a preacher, but keep the facts in front of your kid and let him decide for himself.
Promote alternatives: Offer your children something better than cigarettes to make them feel good. Initiate them to fill their spare time into sports, art, pets, volunteer work, gardening, reading or meditating, etc. They should be exposed to as many interests as possible. Encourage them to do some exercises also as in exercise there is stimulation of brain’s production-like of endorphins(a morphine-like substance that alleviates pain and fear).
Provide ways to say’no’: Help him to defend himself from his friends who will surely scoff at him to be a mama’s boy. Teach your kid how to react in this embarrassing situation, he can simply reply back, ’My parents would ground me for the rest of my life.’
It is not a shame at all if we include individual and family sessions held either at home or with family members, school or other community location. Problem solving skills are discussed at the sessions and the inter-action between young and old will definitely help to find out where it’s patchy. In some countries where family tie is still solid, let’s say like in India, Pakistan, Mauritius, Iran, Saudi etc, children have a very special relationship with grandma and grandpa. That is why grandparents can be such powerful allies in helping a kid keep off smoking. The warmth of relationship as well as plenty of time can act like magic for children.
MESSAGES FOR TEENAGERS
Better to know your BODY than to know the cigarette brands! Dunhill, Marlborough, Benson & Hedges, Embassy, Camel, Matinée. from any big brand of cigarettes to any cheap brand, all are harmful for your health. Smoking puts your health and social life at risk. Some heavy smokers spend lots of money to support their habit. Beware of Ads and those billboards in which we find a sexy and macho man with a cigarette between his fingers and a semi nude woman gripped to him. Surely the youngsters will be excited and will ape the Ad. Tobacco will make you and the people around you sick, even your children born or unborn. Smoking rots your body and your teeth, it gives you bad breath and will make you unhealthy.
Encourage the government to grow food without poisons and pesticides for the benefit of the country and destroy the tobacco fields. Let the Authority grow things that are good for us, for our health and for the future generation. The economic costs of smoking alone is plenty of reason to not smoke or to quit. By setting your money on fire, you are unconsciously damaging your body in the process.
If you smoke QUIT, if you don’t smoke DON’T START. Success is not puffing 80 cigarettes a day. You and Success are linked together and you should have a strong will-power also not to get involved with tobacco. The real SUCCESS is S=Sacrifice yourself U=Uniqueness(don’t imitate your friends) C=Conscious what you do C=Change to the betterment E=Energy S=Serious and S=Sincere towards yourself and your parents.
If you say’NO’ to tobacco, you are helping the future generations also who will not know’what’s a cigarette is’, since this word will be eradicated only by YOU. There is no greater power on earth than human will-power.