What to do if an 11 year old child tries to smoke

How to find out if a child smokes?

In order to understand that a child smokes, you do not need to organize investigative activities and resort to clever tricks; as a rule, it is enough to show a little attention. Of course, the most obvious evidence is to see a teenager with a cigarette, but this rarely happens, since children carefully hide smoking from their parents. The following signs indicate the presence of a bad habit:

Smell. Tobacco smoke is very persistent and absorbs quickly, so a child who smokes will smell of tobacco not only from his mouth, but also from his hair, skin and clothes. It’s worth thinking about if a teenager starts brushing his teeth frequently, actively wearing perfume, and constantly chewing gum.
Cough. It all starts with a morning cough, which turns into a wet cough with sputum production.
Breathing becomes hoarse soon after the child starts smoking, even slight physical exertion leads to shortness of breath.
Harmful substances contained in cigarettes provoke a weakened immune system , so one of the symptoms of smoking can be called increased colds.
Yellow plaque on the teeth, yellow skin on the fingertips, inflamed, reddened eyes, increased tearing.

Smoking teenager

Also, among teenagers who are addicted to smoking, there are significantly more of those who experience emotional instability, frequent mood swings, and increased irritability.

Possible consequences

Smoking is harmful not only in itself, but also as a factor that disrupts the normal work and rest schedule of a teenager. Instead of eating or relaxing during breaks, he rushes to where he can quickly and “under the counter” take a drag or stand in a cloud of tobacco smoke.

He is forced to deceive parents, teachers and other adults by hiding cigarettes, which means both his nervous system and family relationships suffer. Such smoking is a constant stress, which is accompanied by a lack of fresh air and a decrease in physical activity, but have you seen many teenage athletes smoking?

As a result, schoolchildren begin to study worse, their range of interests narrows and the first health problems arise. Unfortunately, a cigarette is a poison that acts gradually, and the prospect of becoming seriously ill in 10-15 years rarely frightens teenagers.

But such “quick” results as poor health, decreased mood and physical activity, as well as poor academic performance can rarely force a teenager to quit smoking. And due to their age, they still cannot fully understand the negative impact cigarettes and nicotine have on teenagers.

Therefore, it is very important to explain to children about the dangers of smoking even before the age when they are handed a cigarette for the first time or called to “smoke around the corner.”

Reasons for teenage smoking

There are many reasons for teenage smoking. Most often, teenagers are drawn to cigarettes for the following reasons:

the desire not to stand out from the general mass of smoking peers, to increase one’s authority;
curiosity, desire to try something new;
the desire to imitate adults, to look older than one’s age;
social problems, difficulties adapting to a team or communicating with classmates;
the influence of advertising and films where smoking is presented as an attribute of success;
genetic predisposition and example of family members (children of smokers are much more likely to start smoking at an early age).

Another reason why children start smoking is the desire to attract attention and please members of the opposite sex. More often than not, girls light up for this reason because they think that with a cigarette they look mysterious and more mature.

At age 2, he smoked 40 cigarettes a day. This is what this boy looks like after 6 years

In 2010, the world was shocked by the news that a 2-year-old Indonesian boy was addicted to smoking cigarettes.

A video of this boy, whose name is Ardy Rizal, has surfaced online. There you can see a child puffing on a cigarette. It turned out that he smoked up to 40 cigarettes a day.

Ardi's parents made weak excuses for their son's addictions. Mom says that if her son doesn’t get cigarettes, he gets angry, screams and hits his head against the wall, says he feels dizzy and is generally sick. And according to his father, Ardie looked quite healthy.

Child smoking is a major problem in Indonesia. This habit affects 80 million children who start smoking at age 10. In 2008, more than 165 billion cigarettes were sold in the country.

Ardi's story caused a storm of indignation and attracted such attention that the country's government was forced to place the boy in a special rehabilitation clinic to rid him of this habit. There was such a negative reaction to the footage and photographs of Ardi smoking that the government launched a national campaign to stop children smoking.

In 2010, a video of a 2-year-old boy smoking cigarettes went around the world. People watched in outrage as Ardy Rizal puffed on a cigarette in his hometown in Indonesia.

Remember the 2 year old Indonesian kid who had a 40 cigarette a day habit?

By the age of three, Ardie was smoking up to 40 cigarettes a day. Due to widespread outrage, the government put Ardi on a rehabilitation program and launched a campaign to tackle the problem of childhood smoking.

His name is Ardi Rizal and he's now 5 years old. He's quit smoking and is now addicted to junk food

Fortunately, a treatment program that included counseling and treatment helped Ardy kick the habit, but he was replacing one harmful addiction with another.

Look at him being all healthy 'n shit

Ardie is addicted to fast food. By the age of six, he was already suffering from morbid obesity. His parents, who want to see him healthy, invited a nutritionist and put the boy on a strict diet.

And hanging out with his parents. They bribe him with toys to stay off the cigarettes

Ardie, now 8 years old, has successfully kicked his addictions. He promised to stay away from cigarettes and fast food, and he still keeps his promise.

He's been in an ABC documentary (looking a bit like Kim Jong Un)

Although this story started out heartbreaking, Ardy proved that a person, with the support of others, can overcome bad habits.

Let's take a moment to look at those glasses again. Coolest kid around

What do you think of Ardie's transformation? Write in the comments and share this story with your friends.

Main photo: Pixabay/pexels (CC0) (Illustrative photo)

The dangers of teenage smoking

Smoking in adolescence poses a serious danger, first of all, to the development of the child, which, under the influence of toxic substances entering the body, slows down significantly.

If a teenager starts smoking, then due to physiological characteristics and the specific development of the psyche at this age, addiction forms very quickly, and it is much stronger than in an adult. So anyone who starts a bad habit early is likely to remain a smoker for life.

Smoking at an early age significantly increases the development of later serious diseases and their transition to the chronic phase. Moreover, even if after some time the teenager is able to give up the bad habit, the predisposition to a number of specific diseases of the smoker will persist for a long time.

The harm of smoking to a teenager's body

Smoking has a complex negative effect on a teenager’s body, affecting all systems and organs.

The cardiovascular system. The walls of blood vessels become less elastic, the vessels narrow, and become clogged with atherosclerotic plaques. The blood supply to organs is disrupted, hypoxia occurs. The load on the heart increases.
Respiratory system. The impact of harmful tars and nicotine on a child’s body primarily affects the condition and performance of the lungs. Their volume decreases, dirt accumulates on the walls, breathing becomes difficult, and less oxygen enters the body.
Brain, nervous system. Circulatory disorders and oxygen starvation of brain cells lead to deterioration of attentiveness, memory, and ability to concentrate. As a result, the teenager remembers and assimilates information worse. The nervous system also suffers, children either become too emotional or, on the contrary, become withdrawn and become depressed.
Hormonal system. Suffers primarily from nicotine. The functioning of the thyroid gland is disrupted, and disruptions in the production of hormones occur.
Reproductive system. Smoking causes irregularities in the menstrual cycle in girls and can negatively affect the ability to conceive and bear a child. In young men, the use of tobacco products can lead to problems with potency, and subsequently to infertility.

Effect on the body

In addition, smoking greatly weakens the immunity of minors. The body becomes vulnerable to various infections and viruses.

The effect of smoking on the teenage body

Despite the fact that teenagers themselves at the age of 12-16 consider themselves quite adults, their body and nervous system are still very different from the formed organism.

At this age, all cells are actively dividing, the sex glands begin to “work”, muscles, bones and ligaments “grow”, the number of nerve connections increases, the endocrine glands are rebuilt - a complete restructuring of the body takes place.

And if a child decides to start smoking at this age, the prognosis can be very disappointing. Thus, young smokers begin to complain of shortness of breath when climbing stairs for 12-15 years, just 1-2 years after starting smoking, and this is far from the worst consequences of this addiction.

How does nicotine affect the teenage body?

After just a few months, teenagers who start smoking can be roughly divided into 2 groups: those who smoke out of curiosity, a desire to look fashionable or remain “the guy” in a smoking group, and others who experience real tobacco addiction.

Moreover, these two types of young smokers can only be distinguished by observing their attempts to get rid of nicotine addiction. Unfortunately, due to the characteristics of the teenage body, they develop nicotine addiction much faster; it is enough to smoke regularly for a couple of months and after that the smoker’s brain and body refuse to “function” normally without nicotine.

Constant release of adrenaline and vasospasm quickly cause wear and tear of the cardiovascular system, which is already working under overload during this period. And the lack of oxygen and other nutrients leads to exhaustion of the body, and the growth and development of tissues and organs slows down.

It is impossible to say exactly how many centimeters of height or kilograms of muscle mass a teenager will lose from this, but it is already a proven fact that schoolchildren who smoke are several times more likely to develop anemia, myopia, retardation in physical development and deterioration of memory, thought processes and vision.

Effect of tobacco smoke

Schoolchildren who smoke cannot, at least most of them, afford good filter cigarettes or enough time for a “smoke break.” Most often, they spend their pocket money on buying cigarettes, buying low-quality cigarettes, smoking them too quickly and puffing on the cigarette butt.

As a result, much more harmful substances enter their body, including polonium, formaldehyde or arsenic. Carcinogenic substances penetrate the bone marrow, liver and other organs. Reproductive function is especially affected in teenage girls who start smoking during puberty.

Menstrual irregularities, constant headaches, and in the future - the risk of developing infertility or diseases of the female reproductive system; more than half of the girls who started smoking before the age of 16 face these problems. Boys who become smokers at the same age suffer from lack of body weight, muscle weakness and myopia, since smoking also negatively affects their vision.

What do young smokers get sick with more often?

The harmful effects of nicotine on a teenager’s body most noticeably affect the respiratory system. Young people are much more likely to be diagnosed with diseases of the respiratory tract, larynx, and nasopharynx. The lungs of a smoking teenager gradually lose their ability to cleanse themselves and function worse and worse, which leads to the appearance of diseases such as:

obstructive bronchitis;
bronchial asthma.

Young people who smoke are getting sicker and sicker from pneumonia. They are less susceptible to viral diseases, such as influenza.

Consequences of smoking during adolescence

Smoking is dangerous for a teenager’s health, primarily due to the fact that the body is in the formative stage and is not able to adequately respond to incoming harmful substances. Nicotine addiction that appears at an early age causes many problems in the future:

chronic diseases of the respiratory system;
diseases of the cardiovascular system;
reproductive dysfunction;
deterioration of vision, smell;
hormonal imbalances;
cognitive impairment;
insomnia;
high risk of cancer;
kidney and liver pathologies;
nervous exhaustion, mental disorders;
poor physical endurance, low performance, lack of energy.

Smoking is dangerous to your health and greatly affects your appearance. Over time, this becomes more and more noticeable. Young smokers look much older than their peers. They have bad teeth, brittle and dull hair, unhealthy sallow skin, with acne and rashes.

How can a teenager quit smoking and how can parents help?

Despite the rapid formation of addiction, a teenager is quite capable of giving up a bad habit. Parents can be of great help with this. Many begin to panic and do not know what to do if a teenager smokes.

Quitting cigarettes

The main thing is not to reduce everything to prohibitions and scandals, since such tactics will not help wean a teenager from smoking, but rather will have the opposite effect. We need to communicate and explain. You should not put pressure on a teenager, but at the same time you must strictly adhere to your position regarding the harm of smoking.

Some tips on how to help a teenager quit smoking:

prove in practice that he ceases to control the process and has fallen into the power of a bad habit (for example, by suggesting not to smoke for several days);
explain that addiction to cigarettes does not make him special or cool, but makes him dependent and weak;
use shock therapy - show examples of what smoking can lead to;
involve in sports (constant exercise will help you get rid of the craving for smoking faster).

If parents smoke, then the first thing they need to do is set an example for their child by giving up smoking.

Cleansing the body of nicotine

It takes about one year to restore a child’s body after smoking. As practice shows, after two months the teenager feels much better. He wants to get involved in sports, ride a bike and live an active life. Physical strength is quickly spent, since the kidneys help remove all negative elements from the body.

A positive result is shown by visits to the bathhouse if the teenager does not have heart problems. Steam helps sweat to actively come out, and all toxins come out through the skin. To cleanse your intestines, you need to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. It is necessary to change the teenager's diet. Add plenty of dairy products. Eat more boiled rice and oatmeal. With the help of these porridges, not only will the intestines work better, but they will also begin to cleanse themselves of toxic elements that appeared due to smoking.

It is necessary to carry out wet cleaning in the house more often and ventilate the room. This will help improve the functioning of the respiratory system. Many teenagers are afraid of gaining weight after quitting cigarettes. There is a chance that they will gain extra pounds, but only in the first two months. Over time, the teenager’s health will improve, and the weight will gradually return to normal.

Healthy recipes

There are a large number of folk recipes that help teenagers get rid of nicotine addiction forever. Below we will look at some of the most effective ones.

Decoctions and infusions of herbs. You need to purchase several types of herbs at the pharmacy that can thin phlegm. These include plantain, mint, wild rosemary and marshmallow root. All herbs are mixed in equal quantities. Herbal treatment should last one and a half months.
A decoction of milk and oatmeal. You need to cook 1 cup of oatmeal in 0.5 liters of milk. When milk evaporates, it should become 2 times less. Strain the oatmeal, leaving only the milk. They drink it every day before bed for 1.5 weeks.
Onion juice with sugar. Sugar must be mixed with chopped onions. 1 onion is enough. You need to leave for 3 hours in a warm place. Drink onion juice an hour before meals. Juice cleanses the body, so it is not advisable to eat a lot. The procedure should be carried out once a week for two months.

Smoking prevention

The problem of teenage smoking is becoming more pressing every year. Therefore, preventive measures must be carried out both at home and at school. Considering the specifics of age, it is advisable to approach the issue wisely:

information about the dangers of smoking in general and in particular during adolescence should be presented in accessible language, always accompanied by real stories and films;
avoid prohibitions and moralizing, focus on the advantages of living without cigarettes;
give examples of famous people (preferably idols of the younger generation) who do not smoke;
involve your child in sports;
diversify the teenager’s leisure time so that he never gets bored and has no time left for bad habits.

All these recommendations will help you cope with the problem, and possibly prevent it from occurring.