YouTube has more than one billion users and most of them are teens. A new study shows that teens are increasingly exposed to various music videos which feature alcohol and cigarettes. As a result, teenagers are at a higher risk of developing smoking habits.
Since YouTube is watched by many teens around the globe, studies like this are done to determine how these videos affect to the behavior and practices of people watching them. In the study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, the researchers reviewed the impacts popular music videos have on teenagers' tobacco and alcohol use.
They found that teens, specifically young girls, are easily enticed to smoke cigarettes because of what they see or watch. Moreover, since these videos are very accessible even for kids, their influence is vast.
Overall, it shows that the music videos had been viewed by 6 percent of adults and 22 percent of teenagers across the United Kingdom. While most of the tobacco and alcohol content was delivered to adults, the teens were exposed to an average of 52.1 alcohol impressions and 10.5 tobacco impressions with exposure rates higher in young girls than boys.
With easy access to these music videos and other influential factors that may entice teens to smoke, parents and guardians should find ways to prevent teens from smoking.
According to the World Health Organization, of those aged 13 to 15 years old, about one in five smokes. Moreover, between 80,000 and 100,000 children start to smoke each day. An estimated 50 percent of teens who started smoking at an early age go on to smoke for 15 to 20 years.
How To Prevent Teenage Smoking?
1. Set a good example.
It is widely known that teens that start to smoke have parents who smoke. If parents do not want their children to pick up the habit, then they should lead by example. Not smoking in the house, in the car, and in front of the children will help prevent them from smoking too.
2. Encourage teens to join in other activities.
Encouraging teens to join various activities of their choice would prevent them from smoking. Taking an active stance against teen smoking through letting kids join activities that nurture their creativity and curiosity avert them from seeking other activities imposed by peer pressure.
As a parent, participating in local and school-based smoking prevention campaigns might help too.
3. Talk to teens about the dangers of smoking.
Showing teens the health effects of smoking and informing them of the variety of diseases associated with it might discourage them to smoke.
If these teens have started smoking, talking about the bad effects of the habit gives them an idea of what they are doing to their bodies and hopefully encourage them against cigarette use.
4. Say no to smoking.
Parents still have the right to say if they approve or disapprove of an activity or habit of their children. If the teen doesn't want to listen, the parents should say it anyway.
This lets the teens know that their parents can set the firmest smoking restrictions to prevent them from engaging in such risky behaviors.
Photo: Javier Ignacio Acuña Ditzel | Flickr
