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I have heard that giving your kid a cigarette when they are very little and forcing them to smoke the whole thing will make them have a bad memory of the event and make them less likely to smoke in the future. I was suspicious. Later, I remember reading about a study that actually showed that giving your kid a cigarette young makes them much more likely to smoke in the future not less likely. (This was pretty long ago and I cannot find the study or the article.)

Is forcing your kid to smoke one cigarette young to make them not smoke in the future a myth, like I suspect, or is it actually shown to be effective?

Oddthinking
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Xitcod13
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    Isn't the claim that you make a child smoke the whole pack if you catch them smoking? – Razie Mah Apr 22 '14 at 23:23
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    @RazieMah that must be a different claim, but i think the answer will bring insight to both. – Xitcod13 Apr 23 '14 at 01:05
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    Wow, I really tried to find this, but I can't. Until age 21-25 exposure to an addictive substance is much more likely to cause addiction because the pleasure pathways can be more easily reprogrammed. Although, with one cigarette probably it increases smoking rates because the parents are smokers and it normalizes the behavior. That's a strong risk factor although the association is probably not causal. I don't see any way that its beneficial. Its also just bad parenting. You can convince a child not to touch the hot stove without touching it for instance. – Razie Mah Apr 23 '14 at 04:12
  • I read a study(or an article which would be bad) that claimed that exposure to nicotine even once early on makes pathways in your brain form that make smoking more pleasurable so it claimed it was a really bad idea. I also think the claim advertised a pretty bad parenting but i had no studies to quote when i encountered a person that believed this. Hopefully somebody else can find a study – Xitcod13 Apr 23 '14 at 06:52
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    I seriously doubt a proper study actually exists on this, as it would be fairly unethical, so one would only have to rely on anecdotal evidence which would be less than useful. – nico Apr 23 '14 at 07:25
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    if you wish to know is it is a good idea then check parenting.SE – ratchet freak Apr 23 '14 at 12:33
  • @nico Well the article i read from what i remember was dealing with how addition to nicotine works in the young brain, showing that certain connections develop after exposure at a young age (which can actually be studied). Also there are tons of studies that cannot be proven beyond a strong correlation but its often enough. (We cannot prove that cigarettes cause cancer for human subject but we can show a strong correlation between smoking and cancer and do animal studies) Same evidence could be used to demonstrate something like my child example. – Xitcod13 Apr 24 '14 at 15:26
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    Calling it bad parenting is begging the question. Until we know whether it is effective, we can't make that call. – Oddthinking Apr 24 '14 at 17:03
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    @Oddthinking thats some oddthinking. I like it :) – Xitcod13 Apr 24 '14 at 18:02

1 Answers1

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Do the unpleasing side effects of a cigarette out weigh the chemical response of pleasure induced from smoking?

A few important links stated by the research of the U.S. government. One statement tells us:

Research has shown how nicotine acts on the brain to produce a number of effects. Of primary importance to its addictive nature are findings that nicotine activates reward pathways—the brain circuitry that regulates feelings of pleasure. A key brain chemical involved in mediating the desire to consume drugs is the neurotransmitter dopamine, and research has shown that nicotine increases levels of dopamine in the reward circuits. This reaction is similar to that seen with other drugs of abuse and is thought to underlie the pleasurable sensations experienced by many smokers. For many tobacco users, long-term brain changes induced by continued nicotine exposure result in addiction.

Knowing how the drug works, would you take the chance that a few seconds of coughing and hacking would counteract the chemical reaction?
Although they cite long-term brain change, in the drug world there is a reason the first one is usually free.

Are There Other Chemicals That May Contribute to Tobacco Addiction?

...Animal studies by NIDA-funded researchers have shown that acetaldehyde, another chemical found in tobacco smoke, dramatically increases the reinforcing properties of nicotine and may also contribute to tobacco addiction. The investigators further report that this effect is age-related: adolescent animals display far more sensitivity to this reinforcing effect, which suggests that the brains of adolescents may be more vulnerable to tobacco addiction.

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/tobacco http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/tobacco/nicotine-addictive

Study: Nicotine Addiction Can Be Immediate

Scientists have confirmed a suspicion held by some smokers but never proven: It could take just a few cigarettes to become addicted.

The scientists suggested there may be three types of smokers: Those who become addicted very quickly, those who get hooked gradually after more regular smoking and those who can smoke lightly or pick up and drop the habit without becoming addicted.

UhlBelk
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  • Faced with modern research 50 some years after that myth was propagated, it is counter-intuitive to think that exposing a child to such an addictive substance would prevent them from becoming a smoker when there are Adults unable to quit with out much difficulty if at all. – UhlBelk Apr 23 '14 at 21:38
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    This isn't a very convincing answer. There's little doubt that tobacco is addicting. The question is whether a strongly negative initial experience (with very low chance of addiction, because of no continuing availability) is enough to prevent children trying it when they are older (e.g. 14 or 15). – Oddthinking Apr 23 '14 at 23:39
  • I added the bit from abcnews that nicotine addiction can be immediate. Lets consider the question about "strongly negative initial experience" Smoking is freaking nasty! It tastes and smells bad until your used to it and even after you are addicted it still tastes and smells bad but its effects over power the discomfort. Time quickly eases that negative experience and before too long it is forgotten to the point that a young adult would still be overpowered by peer pressure or advertising as with anyone else Not forced to smoke one as a child. – UhlBelk Apr 24 '14 at 07:57
  • You fall off a bike and get banged up, we quickly forget the pain and get right back on. Naturally there are exceptions with any fear based incentive and individual personality. If Nicotine addiction can be immediate and adolescent brains are more susceptible to the effects, then it tells us even one cigarette can hook a child. Logic then dictates that forcing a child to smoke one or even a pack runs a higher risk of addiction then just showing a picture of someone with a breathing tube stuck in their throat. – UhlBelk Apr 24 '14 at 08:11
  • "Logic then dictates" - we aren't big fans of informal logic here. It is often used by people who are wrong. Empirical data easily trumps it. Suggesting a child without access to cigarettes will get addicted is without much merit. Whether a picture is as effective as being forced to smoke a cigarette too young is the question being begged. – Oddthinking Apr 24 '14 at 17:02
  • "Suggesting a child without access to cigarettes" Where was that ever stated? Chances are if an adult forces a child to poison themselves as such it is because they got caught with their parents smokes in the first place. Or the child got it externally from a friend hence has access to the cancer sticks. – UhlBelk Apr 24 '14 at 17:24
  • I have presented studies that make it doubtful (skeptical) that forcing a child to choke down a cigarette will keep them from smoking in the future and may even give them a head start toward addiction. Now, show me any studies or even stated empirical data that would show the opposite to be true or even likely. Without endangering children, the actual studies on the subject suggest that poisoning your child with nicotine to keep them from smoking is a bad idea. – UhlBelk Apr 24 '14 at 17:26