Boys smoking is something that is part of our historical heritage. Classics relate back to young boys smoking in order to appear more grown up, or in order to impress his friends. How many of use have knows of boys smoking in a tree house, or on a riverbank, anywhere they can get away from prying adult eyes and experiment? Often this image of boys smoking is treated as a simple “boys will be boys” situation when a parent catches boys smoking cigars, or hears of teen boys smoking.

The fact is that, our images of a simpler time notwithstanding, is that young boys smoking is a major cause for concern in our society today. We have failed to convince boys smoking that what they are up to does not make them cool or more adult. With this in mind, what can we do to get the point across that a boy smoking cigarettes is a foolish thing to do?

The more effort we put into making the act of a teen boy smoking seem like a waste of time, the better the chances of cutting back on the number of cigar smoking boys and cigarette smoking boys in our society. Peer pressure is one of the more powerful tools that influences adolescent behavior, so why not use it to get to the smoking boys? For example, an advertising campaign that portrays a group of very attractive teenage girls looking at pictures of boys smoking and trashing the act of smoking will go a long way toward making any young boy entering puberty think twice about lighting up. The idea that boy smoke leads to bad breath and that leads to no kissing will make an impact where all the medical data in the world will not.

Portraying smoking as being something that is decidedly not adult, not cool, and in fact is damaging to your social life can cut little boy smoking statistics very quickly. At the same time, promoting other activities such as sports or general good health maintenance creates a lifestyle where smoking simply has no place. A smoking boy will soon see his habit is keeping him out of the loop, rather than helping him create a social circle of his own. After all, you don’t see boy scouts smoking, nor do you see athletes smoking. So who would you rather hang out with? Guys who know how to do a lot of things and have the energy to do them or sit around with another boy smoking and going nowhere?

Some think an ad campaign of this type would not accomplish much. But appealing to the very issues that weigh on our minds when we are pre-teen and teen age can keep a young person from making a very bad mistake and getting hooked on something that can color his opportunities for the rest of his life. Boys smoking is a serious matter, and one we should try to effectively address any way we can.