Expert advice: How can I stop my son smoking and drinking?

If my teenage son is happy and understands the dangers, will he be less likely to smoke and get drunk?

Our study looked at the patterns of alcohol or cigarette use among 1,729 UK children aged 10 and 15, and our findings correlate with a declining trend in alcohol and cigarette use among schoolchildren.

Nearly 70% of the children stayed away from using alcohol and cigarettes over a year; and these children were happier and more knowledgeable about the harm caused by drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes than others.

'Young people's expectation of achieving social desirability is likely to drive them to drink alcohol'

Our attitudes towards drinking or smoking are said to be shaped by those around us, and the evidence supports this. Young people's expectation of achieving social desirability is likely to drive them to drink alcohol. In addition, emotional disturbance has been attached to their smoking.

However, knowledge of harm caused by drinking and smoking has protected children from these behaviours.

We think it's possible that content children, who are fully aware of the harm caused by drinking alcohol and smoking, are likely to have developed a belief that drinking alcohol or smoking isn't the answer to being sociable, in contrast to those who aren't content.

Noriko Cable, a senior research fellow at University College London's Institute of Epidemiology and Health - who has ed a study examining whether happiness and awareness of alcohol or smoking-related harm is associated with young people's drinking and smoking behaviours

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