Parents, online tools keep teens from smoking
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Posted Jan. 11, 2007 |
By Arlene Furlong Although some studies show tobacco use among adolescents is decreasing, many smoking cessation experts still view tobacco use as a disorder of childhood and adolescence.
"If a child gets to 18 years of age and hasn't started, it's unlikely he or she will ever be tobacco dependent," says Dr. Theresa Madden, a faculty member at the School of Dentistry of the Oregon Health Sciences University. A Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology, she has conducted workshops and lectures widely on substance abuse and tobacco addiction. She says prevention programs that can delay tobacco use for as long as possible have a great effect.
Dr. Madden believes teenagers are very different from adults when it comes to the reasons they begin using tobacco and the ways they quit. "Marketing techniques that don't have an effect on adults may lure adolescents," she says.
She would like to see tobacco settlement money used to "reimburse dentists and other health professionals for engaging in tobacco-use cessation counseling; for health care and disease prevention, particularly of tobacco-related problems; and particularly for prevention programs that work." (Six tobacco companies, 46 states, five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia signed the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement. All the agreements combined are known as the state Tobacco Settlement Agreements.)
Quitlines, similar to traditional phone hotlines, can be very successful with adolescents, particularly if they include Web resources, Dr. Madden says. Currently, all but six states have tobacco cessation quitlines. The toll-free number 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669) is a single access point to the National Network of Tobacco Cessation Quitlines. Callers are automatically routed to a state-run quitline, if one exists in their area. If there is no state-run quitline, callers are routed to the National Cancer Institute quitline.
"Teens are accustomed to getting their information from the Internet," Dr. Madden explains. "They might not want to tell their parents they're smoking so the Web is a good place for them to learn about quitting while retaining confidentiality."
Dr. Prashant Gagneja, chair of the pediatric department at OSHU School of Dentistry, says dentists are a tool, but parents still have the greatest impact on their kids' tobacco use. "It doesn't do any good for me to talk to a child about smoking prevention if a parent is smoking."
"Adolescents are the fastest-rising group of tobacco users," says Carol Southard, who leads the smoking cessation initiative for the American Dental Hygienists' Association.
The ADHA launched a Web site for dental professionals at www.askadviserefer.org  , which provides news and resources aimed at helping patients quit tobacco use. At the Web site, dental professionals can order free credit card-sized cards with quitline information that serve as convenient handouts to patients.
The ADA Division of Legal Affairs points out that applicable state law will govern permissible roles of dentists in tobacco-use cessation counseling.
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