Think cigarettes can’t lead your child to drugs? Think again.

Think cigarettes can’t lead your child to drugs? Think again. If your son or daughter has just been busted smoking at school or by you, then after you get your yelling out of the way, sit them down and talk about it. Why bother? Here is a perfect example and it comes from my not so nice past.

I can recall looking for a way out from my emotions early on. It’s what us addicts do as we have a fear of actually dealing and working through our problems. Most of the time it’s because we were never given the proper tools and/or developed the self-confidence to even bother trying. For the most part, we think that numbing our feelings will make them go away. That is until we are in our full-blown addiction and the consequences of our use starts to rear its ugly head. Why do I bring this up? Its because the cigarettes are what I first used as an escape mechanism. There was a deeper reason to my smoking them other than just the obvious one, to look cool.

At the age of 12ish or so, I can recall not feeling so good about who I was. The kids at school didn’t seem to like my brother nor I to the level that I had hoped. Being picked last in gym class did hurt. Seeing the girl’s chase the more popular did hurt. Going home to an empty house all the time, sucked. I needed to get away. This led to my discovery of the cigarette.
I didn’t smoke all that often because I didn’t want others to know that I was doing such a disgusting act. I would hide in the woods behind the shed and puff away until I caught enough of a buzz to feel like I was flying away from all the issues that at the time seemed so unconquerable. Eventually my smoking led to my drinking, and so on and so on.

I see kids that are the same age everyday walking down the street smoking and being less discrete about this action and I sometimes wonder. Do their parents know? Does the child know the path he/she is on could be fatal? What are they running from?

One thing is for sure, if your child is smoking, don’t fall for the standard excuse that its just for show. That is bull. There is always a deeper meaning and reasoning behind this action. They are running from something and it’s your responsibility as a parent to get to the bottom of the issue and try to help them face their emotions successfully. I wish to god someone did this for me when I was younger, it would have saved me from the devastating 18 years of drug addiction that all first stemmed from smoking that first cigarette.

Super Star
www.weareoneonline.org

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