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Studies show that, parental attitudes, actions, and opinions about smoking have a great deal of influence on whether or not their children smoke. Parents can dissuade their children from smoking by not smoking themselves and not allowing their children to smoke at home. Many people think that parental disapproval might encourage their children to rebel and take up smoking. The research suggests otherwise. Adolescents respond positively to their parents' attitudes toward smoking. Non-smokers are more likely to have had parents who disapproved of smoking, who never smoked themselves, or who had quit smoking.

Here are some important things that parents can do to prevent their children from smoking. How you do it will depend on your style as a parent and your particular child:

How can parents help their children not get in to smoking- role of family values, bonding with parents etc

• The best thing parents can do to reduce the chances of children’s smoking is to quit smoking themselves.
• Get your children involved in healthy activities that are not associated with smoking.
• Parents should not allow smoking in the home and should not allow visitors to smoke in their homes. This way, your children won’t see people smoking and also won’t breathe in secondhand smoke, which is bad for their health.

•  Parents involvement and interest in children’s lives, their constant encouragement can not only reduce the chances of smoking in children, but also reduce the chances of children’s involvement in risky behaviors such as addiction to alcoholism, use of drugs etc.

Why young children get in to smoking- various reasons like pressure from friends, school, depression, fear etc?

• Parents should talk to their children from a very young age about the dangers of smoking and should make it clear that they don’t approve it.
• Pay attention to the friends your children spend time with. The chances they'll smoke are greater if they have close friends who smoke. Steer your children away from their friends who smoke. You can have some control over which friends your child associates with. If they become involved with the wrong group, it’s up to you to provide alternative settings where they can make new friends.
• Give your children with feelings of self-confidence and self-worth so they will not take up smoking to lose weight, “look cool,” or rebel.

How parents should deal with their teenage children smoking

• Show your kids tobacco advertising. Tell them why companies advertise—to make money. Discuss what tobacco company ads are trying to convey to consumers; ask whether they think these messages are true

• Monitor your kids’ smoking status and reward your kids for remaining smoke free. Tell them how proud you are.

• Work with other parents to make sure your community encourages children and adolescents to remain smoke free.

How should they react on finding out that their children smoke: 

• Take it seriously if a child or adolescent of yours starts smoking; it is a decision that could affect the rest of his or her life.
• Discuss why you don’t want them to smoke.
• Make a fuss; tell them how upset it makes you.
• Ask them why they are smoking.
• Confiscate their cigarettes.
• Take away privileges.

Various therapies available to help quit smoking:

An excellent source of support can be found at http://www.ceasesmoking2day.com Many of these  strategies can be found at: http://www.smokefree.gov/

The combination of counseling and medication is more effective for smoking cessation than either medication or counseling alone.  Stress and depression are reasons many people smoke. Therefore, whenever feasible and appropriate, both counseling and medication should be provided to patients trying to quit smoking. 

• Read about how to quit smoking. Think about how it might work for you.
• Spend time remembering your reasons for wanting to stop smoking and the benefits of quitting.
• Tell yourself that you can choose to smoke or not. Tell yourself that you can quit smoking.  Make a promise to yourself to not smoke.
• Take the warnings of health hazards and illnesses caused by smoking seriously.
• Consider the harm to the earth that is caused by smoking.
• Have at least one person you can count on, be open with, and who will listen to you about your experiences with quitting smoking.
• Take things out of your home and work that remind you of smoking, like ashtrays, matches, and lighters. Replace them with things that remind you NOT to smoke, like a list of your reasons for quitting, or a picture of your family.
• Instead of smoking:
• Find things to do with your hands.
• Think about something else.
• Be active.
• Choose a healthy way to relax or deal with stress.
• Drink cold water.
• Notice the “No Smoking” signs wherever you go and how many non-smokers are all around you.
• Label yourself as a non-smoker. Think about how happy you will be when you quit.
• Reward yourself when you don’t smoke.
• Ask important people around you to help you to feel good about yourself when you don’t smoke. Welcome their rewards.
• Reduce your stress:
• Take a break. Even if it is just for a few minutes, find a way to step back from what is happening. This might mean doing something that is relaxing, actually getting away from it for a while or taking a "mini vacation" in your head by imagining you are somewhere else.
• Deep breathing. Take a few slow, deep breaths. For an extra benefit, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. You will feel your body relax.
• Visualize. Close your eyes and imagine you are in a place where you feel safe, comfortable, and relaxed. It can be a real place or one you make up. Picture it as clearly as you can, including imagining what you would feel, hear, and maybe even smell if you were in that relaxing place. Let yourself enjoy being there for a few minutes.
• Exercise. When your body is active, it sends out natural chemicals that help your mood and reduce your stress. Walking is one of the easiest exercises for most people. Even a short walk every day will help you to reduce your stress and improve your health. And it is free!
• Focus on relaxing your body. Our bodies hold on to stress and tension. Stop for a minute and pay attention to your body and you will find places that are tight and tense. Finding ways to reduce that tension will also help your mental stress. Easy ways to do this include things like stretching, exercise, or getting a massage. Even a few minutes of rubbing your shoulders, neck, and head can release lots of tension.
• Talk to someone for support. Sharing your thoughts and being involved with other people is a great way to help reduce stress.
• Focus on the here and now. Many of us spend a lot of energy worrying about things that may go wrong in the future and how bad they might be. Instead, try focusing just on what is happening now, not on what you might have to deal with in the future.
• Accept that stress happens. Life is full of twists and turns. You will always have some stress in your life. It is often helpful to accept that there will be good days and bad days and not worry too much about the bad days. Tomorrow will be a new day.
• Take care of yourself. Especially right after quitting smoking, you should make extra efforts to take care of yourself. This includes basic things like:
• Eating a balanced diet
• Drinking lots of water
• Getting enough sleep
• Cut out caffeine. Caffeine helps keep you awake when you are tired, but it also can make you feel tense, jittery, worried, and stressed. So if you are feeling stressed, drinking caffeinated coffee, tea, or soda is like adding stress on top of your stress! This is especially true when you are quitting smoking. Cutting back or even eliminating caffeine can help reduce your feelings of stress.
• Face the problem. A lot of stress is caused by things that are happening in your life. Stop and think about what makes you stressed. Is there something you could be doing to fix the problem? It can be helpful to talk with others about what is happening and see if there are ways to make it better.

Medications alone can’t do all the work. They can help with cravings and withdrawal, but they won’t completely stop withdrawal symptoms. Even if you use medication to help you stop smoking, quitting may still be hard at times. Many people find it helps to take medication and change their habits at the same time. For example, you can keep healthy snacks handy to beat cravings, limit time with smokers, and join a smoking cessation program.

Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit

It is important to tell your doctor when you are ready to quit—especially if you are pregnant, thinking about becoming pregnant, or have a serious medical condition. Your doctor can help you connect with the right resources to make your quit attempt work. Remember—quitting "cold turkey" isn’t your only choice.

Make sure to let your doctor or pharmacist know what medications you are taking. Nicotine changes how some drugs work. Your doctor may need to change some of your medications after you quit.

Helpful links:

http://www.ceasesmoking2day.com/

http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/center_index.php?id=105&cn=105