When I was in school, there were lots of kids who smoked. Adolescence smoking could have been considered a problem in my hometown, for sure. People used to hang out at one of the local lakes and light up back in the woods. In fact, I wasn't particularly popular and happened upon a bunch of popular kids smoking in the woods. I incorrectly assumed if I smoked too, then I would be popular as well. The whole 1 plus 1 equals 3 argument. Thankfully, the initial smoking experience turned me off enough that it didn't stick.
There is talk in the medical and scientific community about what to do when these adolescents want to quit. Then if they quit, how do we keep them quit. A recent study looked at factors that caused relapse in adolescence smoking. Again, they want to understand how to design a cookie-cutter program for youth.
It was no shocker to me that they discovered a whole host of factors that caused relapse in adolescence smoking. I think the researchers need to remember what it was like when they were kids. Very little makes sense about kids. They're fighting hormones, peer pressures, acceptence, relational conflicts, the idea of being grown up, etc. There is no cookie-cutter approach smoking cessation or relapse prevention in adolescence smoking. Hey, they're just kids. Too many variables to consider.
IMHO, I think we should focus on establishing a strong parental relationship with their kids. If there aren't any parents or if they're duds, then we should focus our attention on getting them help. My guess would be that smoking is probably the least of those kids' problems. Don't get me wrong, but suicide, crime and other social ills probably rank higher on the priority list than does adolescence smoking for those at risk kids.
