Should You Allow Your Teenager to Smoke at Home?

It is not a parent's job to be cool, popular or best friends with their child. It is a parent's responsibility to raise happy, healthy kids to the best of their ability. Put your teenager's health and welfare first and do not allow them to smoke at home.

In Ontario, smoking is banned from all public places. This includes restaurants, bars, malls, movie theaters and schools. Our premier is also considering banning smoking in cars where children are present. It is actually illegal for a store clerk to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of nineteen. If a clerk is caught selling smokes to a minor, they may have to pay a hefty fine or even have their store's license to sell cigarettes revoked. The government is doing it's best to discourage our children from smoking; a parent should be doing their part too!

Allowing your teenager to smoke at home endangers the health of your child, yourself, your spouse, other children in your family and even your pet. Smoking can lead to lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, gum disease, wrinkles, yellow teeth, bad breath and many other disturbing side effects. Letting your teenager have the independence to make their own decisions is a wonderful thing, but don't make it easy for them to make the wrong choices.

Smoking is a very expensive habit. The price of cigarettes is regulated and taxed highly by our government. Currently a pack of cigarettes in Ontario costs a minimum of $5.00 Canadian. Where is your teenager getting all this money? It makes sense that a teenager who is not allowed to smoke at home will be smoking fewer cigarettes in general. This helps to keep everyone's hard earned money in their pockets for more useful purchases.

Allowing anyone to smoke in your house will decrease the value of your property. Smoking causes the walls and ceilings in your house to be discolored and the smell absorbs into your carpets, drapes, furniture and even clothes. My grandparents were very heavy smokers. I remember visiting their house as a child and leaving our coats in the car so they wouldn't smell. My grandparents also had to repaint their living room every couple of years because of the yellow buildup that accumulated. Who needs this kind of hassle? Teenagers are also reckless and sometimes absent-minded. Allowing them to smoke in your home can be a definite fire hazard.

Statistics prove your teenager will probably try smoking at some point, but they should know better than to do it in front of you. At least make them hide it! Even if your teenager is no longer living under your roof, make them smoke outside. When they grow up living long, healthy lives, they will thank you for it.