Why Teens Smoke
Second of a series

This series looks at four factors that influence people under 18 to smoke: tobacco companies, peer pressure, parents, and teens' ability to make judgments.

Smoking is rebellion for Tiffany Sanders. "I talk back to my parents and teachers all the time," the Tacoma, Washington, sophomore says. "I don't get my kicks from drugs, but I smoke and sometimes drink. But ask me if I care what my parents think. No way."(1)

Smoking as rebellion

Puffing cigarettes is like that for many teens. Dr. Douglas Luke, St. Louis University School of Public Health, has studied why young people smoke. He says, "The one area in which the tobacco industry has apparently been effective is in linking smoking with rebellion. Given that adolescence is a time to try out many risky behaviors, this connection between smoking, rebellion, drugs and sex is potentially a powerful lure for teenagers."(2)

Interesting. When teens light up to show their independence from parents and other adults, they are only buckling under the advertising pressure still more adults exert on them.

Most teens aren't fooled into thinking that smokers are independent. Dr. Luke also found that "although many teens see smokers as being independent rebels, they also see nonsmokers as being in control and not caving in to peer pressure."

Smoking as caving in to parents

There's another way teenage smoking fails to prove self-reliance. Teens like Tiffany Sanders usually take up smoking because their parents smoke. They might think they are smoking to show how independent they are of their parents; the truth is they smoke because that's what they learned from their parents.

According to a study reported on in Pediatrics magazine, 73% of adolescent smokers had other smokers in their households. That same article report on another study where 75% of teen smokers came from families where one or both parents also smoked. Still another study found that if neither of a teen's parents smoke the chances of that teen smoking are only 6% (Postgraduate Medicine).

Smoking is not adult

But smoking is something adults do. So to act like an adult you need to light up. Right? No.

Only 27% of adults smoke. Obviously, smoking is not a sign that a person has reached maturity. Just the opposite is true. People who are mature will resist allowing anything to control their lives - like nicotine and cigarette companies.

Of course there are some who believe smoking is normal for adults. Pre-adolescents. Dr. Robert McDermott, chairperson of the University of South Florida Department of Community and Family Health, found from his research, "both (among 10-12 year olds) who smoke and those who do not, a strong perception that smoking is a typical adult practice."

Think about it

Hmm. Teen smoking isn't much good as a statement of rebellion. Teen smoking usually is a giving in to parents, not independence from parents. Teen smoking doesn't make that person appear more mature. It does make him/her look like a pre-adolescent in an adolescent body.

Apparently, Tiffany Sanders isn't as bright as she thinks.

Pastor Aderman serves the Savior as pastor at Fairview Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also the editor of LivingBold.

(1) http://ihigh.com/rebellion.html
(2) http://www.slu.edu/readstory/newslink/57