I Can't Get My Head Round This One

Neither one of my two children smokes, thankfully and so far. lol Would it bother me, yes because I would know they simply started out of peer pressure and or to be so with the "in" crowd. I have raised my kids to be leaders and team players and not followers so it would bother me, however once started can they stop? Smoking is habitual and something once use to cannot be stopped.

Teens nowadays smokes because of peer pressure. Adults may not see peer pressure as a problem maybe because they have not experience this when they were teens or its not that bothering in their times but in todays young generation peer pressure is a big issue. The desire to fit in, to belong to a group is something that teenagers see as an important aspect of growing up. And as many teens today find it pleasurable to smoke then increasing number of youngsters are engaging in it. It bothers me that my brother has started smoking and he's 19 years old.

They may not have any other bills right now, if they are living with parents and not having expenses. So the money is not so serious to them. And you know, of course, that young people are totally indestructible. It is always the other person who gets sick, or whatever. It is also a subtle way of being defiant. They will not get arrested for it, but they are going against what "everybody says'.

I know that the roomie's oldest niece and both nephews are smoking, and they should've known better, but since both of their parents smoke - and they are pretty stupid about doing smart or right things - and their parents are WORSE - I guess they at least have the excuse that their mom and any guy she was with smoked. STUPID STUPID STUPID!!! I hope they aren't smoking around their kids! (I'm not holding my breath however)

I don't think young people do it to be cool or because of peer pressure. I think it's a form of rebelion...something they know they shouldn't do. I smoke. I've smoked for longer than I care to admit. My husband smokes. My kids always said they would never smoke, but that both do. My son's wife smokes; however he quit about a year ago. My daughter's husband smokes, and she did too until about a week ago, when she was admitted into the hospital and diagnosed with, as yet, an unspecified type of cancer. They thought at first that it was lymphoma, but now they aren't sure...could be a form of adenocarcinoma, but they don't know where it is......

I started years ago because it was the 'cool' and 'in' thing to do. You are correct, we were not told it was bad for our health. In fact I smoked when pregnant with my first child. When I asked the doctor about it, he said the baby would not be affected except perhaps a smaller birth weight. How dumb was that?? In this case he was fortunately correct. No ill effects to the child and I thank God for that. It took years before I finally gave up smoking. Both my husband and I smoke but my children do not. They hated it when we smoked and so they had nothing to do with it. I am at least grateful for that.

I think that the reason teenagers ignore the health warnings is because they think they're invincible. Or rather, they feel invincible. They might think 'I'll give up later', or 'i'll deal with the consequences later'. Smoking is very much an image thing for young people. Most young people realise that smoking creates a smelly, trashy image while others unfortunately think it makes them look or seem cool. I started smoking when I was 19 and I thought I would be able to stop. I have been an on and off smoker for years now and it gets harder and harder to quit as time goes on. I have told my younger siblings that the best way to quit smoking is to not start!

I think that the reason why teenagers start smoking is because of the feeling. They say that when you first start smoking, it gives you a rush. Also, smoking is calming and teenagers have stress just like the rest of the world. I have heard many times of claims that teenagers do it "because it's cool", because of peer-pressure. That may be true for some, but from my experience of having many smoking friends, this is not a common thing. In fact, many (if not most) didn't start smoking with their friends, but rather in secret. I don't have kids, but if I did I would definitely discourage the behavior. However, if they did, I wouldn't be angry with them. I would be worried for them I imagine, but not angry. I would probably talk with them and try to convince them to kick the habit, but if I was too pushy with it, it wouldn't do any good, only push them away, which would make things worse.

I think these days it is peer pressure which makes teenagers turn to smoking, beacuse their mates do it, they feel it is cool to do it also. With today's teenage cultures, they think it makes them look "hard" or adult-like if they are seen smoking, particularly when in groups or gangs.