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PARENTAL GUIDANCE |
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One of the best things you can do with your child is to foster
critical thinking, boost their self-esteem, and equip them with
the skills, motivation, and information they need to make their
own positive lifestyle choices. Smoking is only one issue that
may arise when educating yourselves about movies and you may
discover you want to address other content along side of this
issue. Just remember: 
90,000 Canadian teens start smoking each year.
Over 245 Canadian teens per day.
Most smokers start using tobacco before the age of 18 and many
try it before their 13th birthday. |
Things to keep in mind:
Talking to your kids can make a difference! Communication and
open lines of discussion are essential in influencing your kids.
Redirect potential smoking rebelliousness towards the marketing
strategies of the tobacco industry. If you, as a parent smoke:
Please realize that research shows that even parents who smoke
can reduce the likelihood of their children smoking by 50%
simply by talking about the dangers of smoking, and difficulties
associated with quitting smoking. |
Look at the characters in movies and see how they have been
portrayed, discuss why they might be shown smoking.
Think about the stars your child admires, if they smoke, discuss
the reality of quitting and maybe write a letter encouraging the
actor to quit.
Look at movie actors and how they have an |
entire team of make-up artists to make them look
glamorous…Discuss how smokers really look.
"International Day of Action"
held annually on February 22nd — Get local cinemas, or video
stores to raise awareness and plan to do something together. |
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Don’t tell your kids they’ll die if they smoke:
They won’t believe you and research show this threat can be more
harmful if they do. This may induce intense anxiety in kids
whose relatives or friends smoke – emphasize the risks are long term and can be reversed by quitting.
Focus instead on the immediate consequences: stinky breath, hair
and clothes, yellow teeth and fingers, addiction, bad breath,
clinging tobacco smell, financial costs, increased coughing, and
illness. |
Don’t imply smoking is “dumb” or people who smoke are “bad”:
This may backfire and make smoking a vehicle for rebellion!
This may also cause respect issues for kids whose adult role
models - for example, parents or grandparents, smoke. Learning
that nicotine is addictive, and that society has only recently
realized how deadly smoking is, can help separate children’s
choices from those adult smokers made in the past. |
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Sources for Parental Guidance: bc.tobaccofacts: A Tobacco Prevention Resource for Teachers – Grade 6 British Columbia Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, 1999. Health Canada www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hppb/tobaccoreduction/media.html Improving the Odds. The Tobacco Act, April 1999. Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey Wave 1 February - June 1999. Teaming Up for Tobacco-Free Kids: www.tobaccostinks.com As part of Health Canada’s Alberta and Northwest Territories region, this Web site was created specifically for students to learn about tobacco in a fun and interactive way. |