Smoking in front of children can make them addicted to nicotine
Most smokers are very aware of the damage they are doing to their own health - and know that others can also suffer though passive smoking.
But a worrying new study reveals that smoking infront of children not only passes on the harmful effects of the smoke in the air - it can also get them hooked on cigarettes.
A Concordia and University of Montreal study published in the Oxford journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, found that tweens who repeatedly observe a parent, sibling, friend or neighbur consuming cigarettes are more likely to start smoking themselves.
Worrying: A new study reveals that smoking infront of children not only passes on the harmful effects of the smoke in the air - it can also get them hooked on cigarettes
'Kids who see others smoking are more likely to take up the habit because they don't perceive cigarettes as unhealthy,' says lead study author Simon Racicot, of Concordia University's Department of Psychology.
'We found that kids who'd never smoked who were exposed to tobacco use were more likely to hold positive beliefs about the killer habit. These are the kids who are more likely to start smoking as teenagers.'
This new investigation builds on previous studies examining the negative effects of being surrounded by smokers.
Senior author Jennifer J. McGrath, a professor in the Concordia University Department of Psychology said around 60 per cent of children are exposed to secondhand smoke across North America.
'Greater exposure to smokers is largely associated with greater exposure to nicotine,' she said.
'Children exposed to the same amounts of secondhand smoke as adults absorb higher doses of nicotine.
'Early findings suggest that secondhand smoke exposure could possibly trigger addiction in the brain - before kids actually start smoking themselves.'
Earning: Early findings suggest that secondhand smoke exposure could possibly trigger addiction in the brain - before kids actually start smoking themselves
For the study, 327 11-13 year olds enrolled in French-language public schools were questioned about their smoking habits, the number of smokers in their entourage and the situations where they observed smoking.
'Preteens who were surrounded by more smokers believed that there are greater advantages to smoking,' says Racicot.
'Therefore, smoking by parents, siblings, and friends increases risk factors for later smoking.'
The researchers argue that new prevention efforts must be tailored to children who are highly exposed to secondhand smoke - ensuring they are aware of the risks.
The general public also needs to be informed about how smoking around youth normalizes the dangerous habit.
'When it comes to smoking around kids, the best thing a parent can do is to avoid exposing their kids to cigarettes and to secondhand smoke,' says Racicot.
'A parent should step outside of their home or car to smoke. And the addictive habit should remain out of sight, out of breath and out of mind.'
" tweens who repeatedly observe a parent, sibling or neighbour smoking are more likely to start smoking themselves " On the other hand if they see their old Gran or their elderly neighbour smoking, they may be inclined to wonder why we,re constantly fed all this twaddle. Conclusion, yet another daft article.
What a load of rubbish !! Why is this twaddle given publicity ? Neither my parents or my Grandparents smoke and yet my four Brothers and myself do. My husband and I both smoke and yet just only 1 of our grown up children do. Please stop this guessing game that consists of 'can' and could' etc. It is not very scientific.
CAN. What a lovely word. Pigs CAN fly. If this report was true smoking would be on the increase, but it is not. In the 1950s and 1960s the majority of adults smoked yet the smoking rate is declining, because the majority of children who lived with parents then are non-smokers.
I don't believe this at all !!! Me and both of my brothers grew up in a house where our parents smoked like chimneys as well as quite a few other relatives. My self and my brothers can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke to this day and never did pick up the habit !