Quit Smoking
New polling conducted for the local NHS Stop Smoking Services, among teenagers whose parents smoke, reveals that nearly a third (29%) of teenagers feel they are the ‘health expert’ in the family and 32% feel even more responsible for the health of their parents because they smoke. With nearly 9 in 10 learning about health at school, nearly half (43%) claim they understand the risks of smoking better than their parents.
As a result of this, having parents who smoke is one of the biggest worries to almost half of England’s teenagers whose parents smoke (46%), surpassed only by school work (63%) but well ahead of money issues (37%), bullying (29%) and parents divorcing (17%). Indeed, the research reveals that two thirds (65%) are worried about their parents’ habit and the biggest issue worrying them is the impact on their parent’s health (88%).
Stephen Carter-Woodhead, 15 years old from Huddersfield, said: "As soon as I learned at school about what smoking can do to you, I was on at my mum about giving up. I was worried she might get cancer and also about the effects her smoking might have on us. It’s taken three years for her to take some action but I’m really proud that she has finally given up. Now I don’t have to worry anymore."
In addition to feeling a burden of responsibility about their families health, parents smoking leads to feelings of frustration and anger, with a third (31%) of teenagers feeling most upset with their parents when they smoke and three quarters (75%) of teenagers ask their parents to stop. But 43% of them feel angry that their parents don’t listen to them, a third feel confused (32%) about why they smoke and just under a third (29%) feel frustrated that their parents don’t know how bad it is for them.
Paul Lambert, Local NHS Stop Smoking Adviser from Leeds, said: "Teenagers take far more interest in the health of their loved ones than we might often think, and many referrals to local NHS Stop Smoking Services are a result of teenagers telling their parents what they need to know - that smoking is harming them and their loved ones. We work with lots of families and provide flexible, tailored programmes to help them quit in a way that’s suitable to them. And smokers are four times more likely to go smokefree with local NHS Stop Smoking Service support."
The NHS Smoking Helpline can be reached on 0800 169 0169.