Parents that smoke

Yes I believe they can insist their children do not smoke, if they handle it in the right way. My parents were both smokers when I was young. My mother adamantly said we could not smoke. She explained why she smoked and her reasoning supported her voice against smoking. She basically said she started smoking as a teenager. She wanted to be cool like the other kids. At that time, the health issues regarding smoking were not known or at least known to the general public. She became hooked and was addicted. She felt she could not fight her addiction and said it is a terrible habit and wished she had never started.

It was so ingrained in our heads and stressed so highly about our health, etc. that none of her four children ever smoked. Happily my mom and dad finally did quick smoking. It was not easy and my mom explains to me that even though she has quit for over 6 years she still craves cigarettes.

As a youth my mother would talk to me about the dangers of smoking - between drags, of course. And my grandmother smokes to this day at age 99. I quit smoking 7 years ago and never looked back. My mom quit 10 years ago when she developed a heart murmer and got pneumonia. My grandma is the anomaly.

I gave my kids pretty much the same spiel as Linkat's mom. Then when they got to be in their teens, I told them that I'd pay them a certain sum of $, which would double every year they continued to be non-smokers. I started at $25 when they each became 12, which I saw as the prime age for peer pressure. By the third year, they stopped asking for the money. Not a one of them smoke, and the youngest is 19.

Interesting comments. Anybody else ?

Well, my dad smoked, and told me not to. Got a pretty good illustration of why when we climbed Mt. Whitney when I was 12, but I smoked for a while anyway. I was generally free to make my own mistakes.

Both of my parents smoked at least 2 packs a day. But they had a great strategy to keep me from ever wanting to smoke. They made me wash out their ashtrays every week. That, and having to endure 3-week driving vacations every summer in cars with all the windows rolled up & the air conditioner blasting the smoke into my face worked, too. Oh, yeah!

My sister and I have never smoked. My brother, who always has to be the rebel, has smoked for 30 years. I feel sure it will catch up to him, as he has never had a healthy lifestyle anyway.

Smoking contributed to the deaths of both our parents. Neither made it to 70.

"That, and having to endure 3-week driving vacations every summer in cars with all the windows rolled up & the air conditioner blasting the smoke into my face worked, too"

Oh yuk!
I open my windows, even if the AC is on, and of course, even when I'm alone. I rarely smoke when others are in the car, unless it's a long trip. Somehow, I hate being enveloped in cigarette smoke. Yuk.

Well, that was in the '60s. All the adults smoked.

SO glad my son doesn't have to grow up that way!

Eva, sounds like some of my family trips. Another thing I used to hate about cigarettes. My mom would have one in her hand all the time. On a rare occasion, I got burned from the cigarette when I went to hug her. I also remember going to this one restaurant - best pasta dishes in town. But the smoke was so bad it used to make my eyes sting. I am soooo glad attitudes have changed so much regarding smoking.

I smoke and how i tell my children is look at me, i am killing myself, my clothes smell, and it cost and arm and a leg. why would you want to start? I think kids are going to make there own choices, all we can do is try and help them make the right ones. Hopefully they will learn from my mistake. My son hates the smell of smoke. hopefully he won't ever start.

My mother is a smoker, and always has been. She always said to me and my sister that it is very bad to smoke, that it is addictive, costs a lot of money, that it is bad for your health etc. She also said that it is the biggest mistake she ever made. Four years ago, my sister started smoking. My mother was very disappointed, but she said to my sister that she could not tell her not to smoke. 'How can I tell my daughter not to smoke while I smoke myself'. Now, my sister smokes too. I'm not a smoker. My mother keeps telling me I should not follow her footsteps, and I'm indeed not planning too. But if I should become a smoker, she has said to me she will be disappointed, but not more than that. She understands she is not the best example for us on this part.

Re: Parents that smoke


well, my mother smokes nearly regular , my father sometimes. They said never to me about this, but I knew and I know still: Smoke is one of the worsest things. I never smoked and never will be it.

Some people just never desire to smoke. I started smoking in college (never touched one until sophmore year) quit, started again and quit recently and am now smoking again. My parents never smoked. In fact, my father never even picked up a cigar. So I don't know what makes people smokers. I would imagine that one reason those who have parents that smoke become smokers is because they had easy access to try smoking in the first place. I'll tell you one thing: I don't regret anything in my life except for the day I picked up my first cigarette. If I could go back, that is what I would change.

Not only you. Actually scientist from around the world discuss about this.

My parents smoked and my middle brother and I picked it up. Both of my parents are gone now and I quit a few months after my mother passed away, kind of as a tribute to her because altho' she never did quit, she wanted me to and she made that very clear to me.

My brother is 54 and battling lung cancer today.

Both my parents smoked when I was growing up. I think it worked, because I hated the smell so much I've never smoked.

Except banana peels and crack.

I don't know why I don't quit for good. I want to. Sort of.
I mean, yeah it's bad for you, but you aren't guaranteed cancer if you smoke, just as you are not guaranteed to be healthy if you don't. I've known people who smoked for 50+ years and don't have cancer, and they smoked the hard stuff like Lucky Strikes. But I've also known people who never touched a cigarette and have cancer. I don't know. The way our life styles are these days, something we do is going to kill us, whether is it our diet, our cigarettes, our alchohol or our stressful conditions. Basically, it all sucks.