What if Your Child Smokes Cigarettes?
Finding out that your child is smoking can be very concerning for a parent.
Young people can become addicted to nicotine faster, and even low-level or social smoking carries health risks for children.
If you find out that your child smokes, it’s important to be open to discussion –being angry or confrontational is unlikely to stop your child from smoking.
Take a look at our suggestions below to help your child quit smoking, by giving them the support and encouragement they need.
How to Help Your Child Quit Smoking
1. Educate yourself about smoking using the resources on iCanQuit, so you can provide your child with the right advice and information.
2. Find out about different strategies for quitting smoking in the Quitting Methods section on our website.
3. See if your child would like to visit their doctor.
4. Ask your child if they want to call a support service such as the NSW Quitline to talk confidentially with a professional advisor.
Please note, your child will have to give their own wilful consent to talk; the NSW Quitline cannot speak to someone being coerced or forced into talking.
5. Use the NSW Quitline services yourself to get more information about quitting smoking.
Discover what support is available to help your child quit smoking, in Professional Support and Advice
Supporting Your Child to Quit Smoking
If you discover your son or daughter has started smoking, it’s normal to feel worried. But the chances are, your child will want to quit smoking at some point, even if they aren’t ready to quit right now.
What’s more, it’s normal to make a few or even many attempts to quit smoking, so don’t be too concerned if your child’s initial quit attempt doesn’t work. The encouraging news is that there are now far more ex-smokers in Australia than current smokers.
Above all, it’s important to support your child throughout their quit smoking attempts, despite any setbacks or smoking slip-ups (read more about Smoking Slip-Ups).
You can speak to the NSW Quitline for confidential advice – just call 13 7848 or 13 QUIT. Click here to request a call-back