Soccer Smoking & Prevention
Prevent Smoking Among Soccer Players
| Kids who don't even use tobacco are in danger when they're exposed to secondhand smoke. Inhaling smoke from other people's cigarettes, cigars, pipes, bidis, or kreteks can be deadly. Each year, about 3,000 adults who don't smoke die of lung cancer as a result of breathing in secondhand smoke.20 Secondhand smoke also causes lower respiratory tract infections in toddlers21 and triggers asthma attacks in children and adults.13 Teens who do not participate in sports are far more likely to smoke than their physically active peers. The Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook 63 Spor ts P a r ticipa tion Reduc es Teen Smoking! Scientific evidence shows that teenagers who participate in sports are far less likely to smoke than their peers who aren't involved in sports.1,2 In a study conducted by researchers with the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, high school students who participated in at least one sport were found to be 40% less likely to be regular smokers and 50% less likely to be heavy smokers than students not involved in sports.2 The CDC researchers suspect that lower rates of smoking among student athletes could be related to several factors:2 . A boost in self-confidence because of their involvement with sports. . Additional counseling about smoking from their coaches. . Less peer pressure to smoke. . Realization that smoking would hurt their sports performance. . Awareness of how smoking would harm their health. In the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey, one in three middle and high school students who had never smoked reported that someone else in their home smoked. Among high school students who had never smoked, over half reported being in the same room with someone who was smoking, and over 30% reported being in a car with someone who was smoking 7 days before the survey.13 Factors That Increase a Kid's Risk for Using Tobacco By understanding the factors that place youth at risk for using tobacco, we can develop more effective tactics for discouraging them from ever trying tobacco products. Here are some of the known risk factors for smoking among teenagers:7,22,23 . Having friends who smoke. . Having parents or an older sibling who smoke. . Having parents who are not involved in their lives. . Believing that tobacco use is normal. . Believing that tobacco use somehow benefits them. . Having easy access to tobacco products. . Being exposed to cigarette ads and promotions. . Having a low self-image. . Being unable to refuse offers to use tobacco. . Coming from a family with low-socioeconomic status. 64 The Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook Refer enc es 1. Page RM, Hammermeister J, Scanlan A, Gilbert L. Is school sports participation a protective factor against adolescent health risk behaviors? Journal of Health Education 1998;29:186-92. 2. Escobedo LG, Marcus SE, Holtzman D, Giovino GA. Sports participation, age at smoking initiation, and the risk of smoking among U.S. high school students. JAMA 1993;269:1391-5. 3. Kann L, Kinchen SA, Williams BI, et al. Youth risk behavior surveillance- United States, 1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2000;49(No. SS-5). 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fact Sheet: Youth Risk Behavior Trends from CDC's 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. Atlanta, Georgia: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000. 5. Troiano RP, Flegal KM, Kuczmarski RJ, Campbell SM, Johnson CL. Overweight prevalence and trends for children and adolescents: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1963 to 1991. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 1995:149:1085-91. |
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