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• Cigarettes in Kids Movies, In Life, at Grandma's

  I can kind of sympathize with Eric Alterman's rage in this post on Media Matters. He's pissed because he took his two 9-year-olds to see "Definitely, Maybe" which, according to him, wound up being cigarette porn instead of a nice father-daughter family flick. He says the movie glamorized smoking, especially for young females, and also made it appear to be easy to kick the habit. Also:   Read More... Posted Feb 28 2008, 03:34 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: teens, smoking, tweens, Smoking prevention, teen life, adult play, tween, teen trends, teen smoking, teenager, teen, adult movies

• Most SIDS in U.K. Due to Smoking During Pregnancy

  Is there anything cigarettes can’t do? Cancer. Emphysema. Low birth weight babies. Brown teeth. Such multi-taskers, these tobacco-packed sticks of heaven/hell. Score another point for the downside of tobacco. A new study has determined that smoking during pregnancy causes 90 percent of the SIDS cases in the U.K. of newborns to four-month-olds. Read More... Posted Oct 15 2007, 04:32 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, smoking, Smoking prevention, SIDS, U.K. moms

• Teen Girls Smoke Themselves Thin

  Smoking and eating: a classic combination. Weird how more of one makes you do less of the other. Teen girls seem to have caught on to this link too (not teen boys though, more on that in a second). Florida researchers, who wanted to see whether the desire to lose weight played a role in tobacco use among teens, have found an association between dieting and regular smoking. Teen girls in the study who started dieting during the study wound up being regular smokers at almost two times the rate as the girls in the study who didn’t diet at all. Boys, on the other hand, who began dieting and then stopped, were 1.7 times more likely to start smoking regularly compared to boys who didn’t diet at all. Read More... Posted Sep 17 2007, 08:23 AM by Madeline Holler with | with no comments Filed under: teenagers, Smoking prevention, dieting, teen smoking

• Kids Can become Hooked on Cigarettes Within 2 Days of First Puff

  I remember my first cigarette. I was about, what, 16? 17? and something prompted me to put a handful of quarters in the cigarette machine (remember those?) in the donut shop where I worked and buy a pack. I lit one up at the back of the store, took a drag, and nearly passed out. Which pretty much ended that. Yeah. Lightweight. That's me. But apparently those things are addictive! True! And especially to our kids, which is especially distressing. In fact, a new study says that 10% of kids who try smoking become hooked after two days of first trying one. 25% are hooked within a month. True? That's horrible. The study also says that even kids who only smoke a few cigarettes a month suffer withdrawal symptoms when they stop. What are we doing to our kids?  I know it's hard to stop smoking, just as it's hard to end any sort of addiction. But cant we find a way to keep our kids from even starting? Posted Jul 06 2007, 09:54 AM by Karen Murphy with | with no comments Filed under: kids, health, smoking, addiction, Smoking prevention

• Smoking in Movies Will Affect Ratings

  Whatever you think about the Motion Picture Association of America and its seemingly arbitrary ranking system, the group announced today that smoking in a movie will now affect its rating. In the past, illegal teen smoking (and other parental concerns like sex and violence) has played a part in how the MPAA rates movies. The organization said that it is now expanding their criteria to include all smoking when evaluating a film and assigning a rating. "Now, all smoking will be considered and depictions that glamorize smoking or movies that feature pervasive smoking outside of an historic or other mitigating context may receive a higher rating." This is considered a victory for child advocacy groups and health organizations, but what irks me is how many actors and actresses in Hollywood smoke. Young celebs like Britney Spears, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Metcalfe, Lindsay Lohan, and Sienna Miller, are often snapped with cigarettes in hand. That's real life, and how kids feel about their "role models" smoking concerns me far more than smoking in movies. But that's a post for another day.  Posted May 10 2007, 07:04 PM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: anti-smoking, smoking, Smoking prevention, MPAA, movie ratings, role models

• CA Considers Ban On Smoking With Kids In Car

  A proposal to ban smoking in cars with children inside is scheduled to be heard Wednesday, in the California state Senate's health committee.  California is one of 16 states considering such a ban.  The proposed ban has its supporters and its critics, as they all do.  Those who are in favor, like the American Lung Association, say babies' and children's exposure to secondhand smoke contributes to asthma, lower respiratory tract, ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome, and that it is the government's job to step in when parents knowingly, and willingly, expose their children to cigarette smoke's powerful toxins and carcinogens.  Those who are against the ban, call it an example of "nanny government," and an invasion of personal rights. Sen. Jenny Oropeza, D-Long Beach, wrote bill SB7, which would would make it an infraction punishable by a fine of $100 to smoke a cigarette, cigar or pipe in a car containing anyone under 18. The driver would not have to commit another traffic offense to be pulled over.   While I agree that legislature based on what the government, as an institution, thinks is "right" can be a slippery slope, I think that when medical and scientific evidence prove that something is so toxic that prolonged exposure to it can be deadly, it irresponsible not to protect children whose parents simply don't give a crap.  Smoking is everyone's personal right, sure.  But smoking in a car with a child present is tantamount to child abuse.  That's just sick.  Even smokers know that. What do you think about the proposal?  Do you think it's within the state's rights to protect children from harmful chemicals this way, or do you think it's an invasion of personal rights?    Posted Mar 27 2007, 04:04 PM by Alisyn with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: Smoking prevention, kids health, nanny government, california ban on smoking

• Great News! You Might be Able to Stop Your Kid from Smoking

  Your efforts to stop your child from smoking just 'might' work according to recent research.  A series of studies analyzing the success of  family-based substance abuse and smoking prevention programs concluded that there is no 'sure-fire' method that works.  However, pre-middle school smoking is not surprisingly a predictor of a habitual lifetime use, so programs focusing on elementary school children have the most potential for success. A program in North Carolina aimed at families with 8-10 year olds used activity guides, newsletters and prizes to make participation more fun.  Activities include practicing refusing an offer of a cigarette and include prizes such as t-shirts and books. As it becomes increasingly difficult for school-based programs to counter the powerful influence of kid-oriented advertising, family-based prevention programs seem to hold the key to success.   Apparently, even Phillip Morris can't beat out most moms and dads when it comes to smoking prevention. Posted Jan 28 2007, 08:04 AM by Rachael Brownell (Redsy) with | with no comments Filed under: health, parents, prevention programs for kids, Phillip Morris, Smoking prevention