It’s never too early to talk with your children about smoking as you can greatly influence their decisions and help them make the choice not to smoke.

Children learn by example. If you smoke, think about what this tells your children. Think about how to explain your addiction to your children. This may be a lesson they will always remember.

Government is doing its part to protect the health of children. A new law, which went into effect April 1, 2008, makes it illegal to smoke in a vehicle when there is a person under 19 inside. Children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke have a higher risk of developing health problems.

Topics to discuss

• Teach younger siblings
  Ask your children what they’d teach younger siblings about smoking. How would they protect them from becoming addicted to cigarettes?
• Smoking advertisements
  Do your children know tobacco companies target them? Ask if they notice advertising about smoking in magazines or product placement on TV or in movies.
• Smokers’ look and smell
  Most young people think smoking is gross. They know smokers can have bad breath, smelly clothes and hair, and stained fingers. Ask if they know plaque and tartar build up more quickly on teeth of someone who smokes, and they have much greater chances of developing gum disease and losing teeth.
• Chemicals in tobacco smokers
  Smokers inhale more than 5,000 chemicals with each cigarette. These include acetone (paint stripper), carbon monoxide (car exhaust), phenol (disinfectants), cadmium (car batteries), toluene (paint thinner) and benzene (gasoline). Fifty of these chemicals cause cancer.
• Addiction
  People who smoke aren't bad. They’re addicted to nicotine. Many became addicted when they were young and didn’t believe they would get hooked on tobacco. Nicotine can be as addictive as heroin or cocaine.
• Cost
  Help you children figure out with them how much smoking might cost for one week or one year. What would they rather do with the money?
• Physical fitness
  Children active in sport have a far lower chance of becoming smokers and are unlikely to pick up the habit once they’ve reached 18. Support your children becoming more physically active through sport. To learn more about sport options in your area, visit Sport Nova Scotia or telephone (902) 425-5450.
• How to say no
  Help your children stay part of the 75 per cent of Nova Scotia’s youth who don't smoke. Discuss how they can say no to cigarettes, and offer some suggestions like "No, thanks. I don’t smoke" or "My coach doesn’t want me to smoke."

Remind your children that most young people don't smoke and learning to say “no” now is a lot easier than trying to quit later. If other important people in your children’s lives smoke, discuss this with your children and listen to what they think about these experiences.