Talk To Your Kids About Tobacco #SeenEnoughTobacco

This post was sponsored by Tobacco Free New York State as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Smoking is one thing I never really understood! I always joke that I live in a bubble world and even cigarettes help prove that. No one really smoked around me growing up. If there happened to be a family member that smoked at a family gathering, you best believe they were told to hide their habit from any child in site. Smoking was so taboo and labeled “bad” “gross” “smelly” even “scummy” that I just assumed only terrible or uneducated people smoked.

My little high school was just the same. Yes people smoked, but apparently the anti smoking classes worked like a charm because the number of smokers was minimal. You didn’t see athletes or scholars puffing away that’s for sure.

And then came college. My freshman year was definitely shocking for many reasons. I was now surrounded by thousands of kids coming from all types of backgrounds & most of these kids didn’t live in the same bubble as I. Smoke-Free campus meant nothing and these people smoking? I would spot athletes, nerds, fashionistas, even teachers puffing away! It was almost like it was a trend. Everyone was doing it.

I have a habit of hating things if everyone else likes them and thankfully smoking cigarettes was no different! Since everyone was doing it, it looked more and more unappealing to me. Unfortunately I’m a rare breed because most kids? If the cool kids say to do something? You best believe their doing it. Even smoking cigarettes.
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Talk To Your Kids!!

I am now mom to the most precious little girl in the world!!!!! She is a total people person. Loves to be social. Loves attention. & like most little girls, wants everyone to like her. You best believe the pressure is on to make sure my daughter follows in my smoke-free footsteps! With the average age of a new smoker in New York State being only 13 years old. That’s right 13!!!! & to make matters worse, from 2014-2018 e-cigarette use grew 160% among high school students, this will not be one easy task in today’s society.

My worst nightmare would be for one of the “cool kids” to hand my daughter a cigarette since cigarettes are everywhere!!! Tobacco companies are literally spending billions to put their products in front of our kids in stores. And the more kids see tobacco, the more likely they are to start smoking since it almost becomes the new normal. How scary!!!!!!

Don’t let a friend or even a store display be the first ones to introduce your child to cigarettes! Let this be a conversation your child has with you first! The sooner your child knows what cigarettes are and the consequences of starting this habit, the better!

#SeenEnoughTobacco

We can have all the conversations in the world!!!! We can even help our kids come up with all the witty I hate cigarette excuses to tell their classmates, but unfortunately it still might not be enough to beat peer pressure. If you ask me, it’s time we as parents take action and protect our kids from being exposed to tobacco products in stores! The less our kids see tobacco, the better luck we have of them even starting!

Sign the “Seen Enough Tobacco” pledge today to make New York a healthier place to live, work and play!

Pledge => http://goic.io/1_q1hG

Check out the Tobacco Free New York State sites for more information:

Tobacco Free New York State Site: http://www.tobaccofreenys.org

Tobacco Free New York State Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tobaccofreenys

Tobacco Free New York State Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/tobaccofreenys

Tobacco Free New York State Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tobaccofreenys