Teenagers clash with parents over smoking

Thursday February 19th, 2009

Teenagers may hold the key to persuading their parents to give up smoking, according to a new campaign by the British government.

The campaign, launched today, focuses on the parents of teenaged children.

Backed by a survey of teenagers, the campaign urges parents and teenagers to discuss the implications of continuing to smoke.

A survey of some 400 teenage children of smoking parents found that nearly half believe they understand the risks of smoking better than their parents.

And 75 per cent of teenagers told questioners that they had asked their parents to stop - while 43 per cent said they were "angry" at being ignored.

Paul Lambert, an NHS Stop Smoking Adviser from Leeds, said: "Teenagers take far more interest in the health of their loved ones than we might often think, and many referrals to local NHS Stop Smoking Services are as a result of teenagers telling their parents what they need to know - that smoking is harming them and their loved ones.

"We work with lots of families and provide flexible, tailored programmes to help them quit in a way that's suitable to them. And smokers are four times more likely to go smokefree with local NHS Stop Smoking Service support."

Health minister Ben Bradshaw said he hoped the campaign would persuade parents to stop smoking.

Tags: Child Health | General Health

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