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<p align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="5" color="#0000FF">Health
Matters</font></b></p>
<h1 style="margin-top: 1; margin-bottom: 1" align="center"><!--mstheme--><font color="#330099"><b>
<font face="Verdana" size="4" color="#000000">Teen Smoking:</font></b><!--mstheme--></font></h1>
<h1 style="margin-top: 1; margin-bottom: 1" align="center"><!--mstheme--><font color="#330099"><b>
<font face="Verdana" size="4" color="#000000">Parents and the Community Can Make a Difference</font></b><!--mstheme--></font></h1>
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<o:p>
<p style="margin-top: 1; margin-bottom: 1"> </p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana"><b>The facts!</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">The data are clear and irrefutable: both primary
and secondary smoke are hazardous to your health. Billions of valuable health
care dollars are spent combating the effects of tobacco. Although Massachusetts
residents smoke less than the national average, too many continue to smoke. Of
great concern is the number of children who report smoking. According to the
Needham 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 21 percent report that they are regular
smokers, and six percent report they bought cigarettes in a store.</font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">The Centers for Disease Control report that
approximately 80 percent of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18.
The average age at which they begin is approximately 12 �. Underage smokers
purchase 947 million packs of cigarettes and 26 million cans of smokeless
tobacco each year, resulting in $1.26 billion in tobacco sales. Smoking kills
more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes, murders, suicides, and
fires � combined.</font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">Despite continued efforts to prevent children from
obtaining tobacco, they continue to do so at an alarming rate. We hear a lot
about such factors as peer pressure, advertising, and seeing celebrities smoking
as contributing to higher rates of teen smoking. What can a parent and the
community in which they live do to counteract these outside influences
bombarding their teens? </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana"><b>What can a parent do?</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"><b><i> </i></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">A study in the December 2001 issue of the journal
<u>PEDIATRICS</u> indicates that it may actually be parents who have the
greatest influence on whether their teens will smoke. The study reported that
�adolescents who perceived strong parental disapproval of their smoking were
less than half as likely to have higher smoking�levels compared with those who
did not perceive strong parental disapproval.� By contrast, those teens who
thought that their parents were getting more lenient over time were
significantly more likely to progress to becoming established smokers. </font>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">What else can parents do? There is an effective
No Smoking message for children at all stages of development. Ideally, all
children should be provided a smoke-free environment, at home and in the
community. Parents should access smoke-free restaurants and other facilities so
that their children will grow up seeing few adults in their community smoking
and will believe that they are entitled to a smoke free environment.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">Very young children can understand that both
smoking and secondhand smoke are harmful. Children at this age need to be
taught to disapprove of the smoke, not the smoker.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">School-age children are often concerned about
environmental issues, and tobacco use can be presented in the context of
pollution. Secondhand smoke is a prime source of indoor air pollution, and
discarded cigarettes are a major source of litter. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">As children begin to enter their early teen years,
parents need to be certain that young teens do not have access to tobacco
products at home. Studies show that when young teens begin to experiment with
smoking, their first cigarettes are frequently obtained from parents, older
siblings, and older relatives. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">During the teen years parents need to repeat their
strong disapproval of tobacco use. Although there is much concern about teen
smoking, teens need to understand that most of their peers do <b>not</b> smoke
and that they do not need to smoke to �fit in�. Consequences for using tobacco
need to be established and implemented, if necessary. Parents should support
the schools, athletic associations, restaurants, and stores that have strict
no-tobacco-use policies. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana"><b>What can the community do? </b></font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin:1 5; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">The Needham Board of Health has been and will
continue to be aggressive in tackling the public health issue of tobacco.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">In 1993, the Needham Board of Health established
the local Tobacco Control Program. This program was funded by the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health and was supported by a statewide referendum. After
ten successful years, the Tobacco Control Program was unfortunately eliminated
due to drastic statewide budget cuts.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">This leaves us with a choice. To continue to work
aggressively and try to curb tobacco use among children, or yield to the tobacco
industry. We have chosen the former. Boards of Health are the branch of
government responsible for the protection of public health, safety, welfare and
the environment. Tobacco enforcement operations have been proven to be
successful. If these enforcement operations are curtailed, tobacco sales and
tobacco use among minors will increase. We need to continue to fund this
program.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">The Needham Board of Health has passed regulations
dealing with smoking in the workplace, restaurants and bars, and other public
domains. Unfortunately, tobacco products continue to permeate the Middle School
and High School. We feel strongly that raising the legal age to be sold tobacco
products to the age of 21 by the year 2005 will go a long way in reducing the
number of young people using tobacco. These decisions and new regulations have
been researched thoroughly. The California Medical Association has submitted
legislation to enact similar regulations in that state.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2">Some people feel that Needham should not take the
lead in this matter. We do not agree. It can be difficult to make decisions
that go against the grain. It is challenging to lead. We are hopeful and
optimistic that other towns will follow our lead. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<font face="Verdana" size="2"> </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:1 5; text-align: justify; ">
<b><font face="Verdana" size="2"><i>We need to show our children that most
adults do not smoke, and that smoking is no longer something to do to look
�grown-up�. We need to raise our children to expect a smoke-free environment.
Our future depends upon it.</i></font></b></p>
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