To buy my child an e cigarette

[WomenVsbarbie]

Okay I just know two of my teenagers smoke. Haven't found evidence but insider knowledge (ds telling me ) and both have a ready supply of gum and mint.

Anyway I was thinking if I make them go cold turkey it won't work but if I can get them an e cig or nicquitine gum then maybe we could quit like adult smokers with less chance of failing. Anyway Aibu

How old?

Yanbu, but unless they want to quit it won't work

Both 15

Does your GP offer a smoking cessation service? Or maybe try www.nhs.uk/smokefree for further advice?

YANBU in terms of your idea, as long as you understand it will only work if they're ready to give up.

I guess too it depends on how long they've been smoking and how heavily.

Try it. My dad's gone from 30 a day to just using his vape thingy.

The idea is to get them to switch to the ecig. Hopefully they would switch as I would be paying and not coming out of their own money.

There are some good vape things around and I see a few teenagers using them. I hadn't before considered they may have been bought by a desperate parent.

They're quite a big chunk of money for a 15yo, I guess discussing their smoking and getting them one would help. Better that they stop the habit altogether though.

I started at 13yo and would have welcomed an ecig, but never really thought I'd still be smoking 30 years later

Where on earth are they getting the money from to smoke? Cigarettes are really expensive now.

I understand about your wanting to get them to stop but, if they can only afford x-amount of cigarettes a week they're rationed. Your purchase of an e-cigarette is going to normalise smoking to a degree. I don't know how much longer lasting e-cigarettes are?

I'd cut down/out any money they got from me, I wouldn't fund cigarettes.

Just musing really... your idea might be a very good one.

Yes but to get them to switch to the e.cig would require them being willing to give up smoking.

I think it's a great idea but be prepared for the fact it might not be easy.

Seems to have worked with dd2. She's down to a couple a day.

i wouldnt. they're probably not addicted, just smoking for cool, ecigs are all the rage now anyway with teens, noone knows what future health probs they might cause and it normalises smoking. big no vote from me

Dd gets an allowance from us of about £70 a month. With that she has to pay phone £23. She is made to save £15. If she wants to visit friends or save up for clothing she has to pay with this money.

Dss gets money from us £20-30 a week. We don't know how much he gets from mum.

I know their is a local newsagent/ shop selling Booze and cigs to teenagers. I've seen many in the area drinking and smoking.

Go for it.

I was a 40 a day smoker. Quit with an e-cig two years ago, maybe closer to 2.5 years now.

Never looked back. Still love my e-cig though and have no plans of giving that up. I don't drink so this is my thing. I enjoy vaping more than I enjoyed smoking.

I will probably be a life vaper. I do not need the nicotine anymore. I enjoy it. After getting myself a good kit I probably spend on average £14 a month on juice and replacement coils.

I'm confronting later. Brace me luck

sanfairyanne... have you seen the advert for 'e-cigs'? It's in a nightclub setting and aimed at teens. It makes me furious. I can understand measures to get people off cigarettes but why promote this as in any way 'cool' or something to aspire to? It's horrendous.

WomenVsbarbie... I wouldn't hand over that money every month, I just wouldn't. She's obviously not old enough to manage it if she's buying cigarettes. Will you just be buying the e-cig and having to pay for the liquid every month? If so, you'll be saving her a fair bit, won't you... perhaps more for her savings?

I know smoking is addictive, I smoked for many years (20) and manage to stop. I wish I'd never started it, it's absolutely a stupid habit. I quit just before the ban came in and it wasn't really acceptable to smoke then but it was still more 'ok' than it is now. So many young kids smoking and there are more restrictions on it than ever now, it's really sad.

... and Good Luck with your talk!

70 quid a month????
fucking hell

just cut the money!

Yes.. my big green battery in the shape of a box doesn't look anything like smoking.

Normalises smoking it doesn't.

Ime, you use an ecig in a different way, 2 or 3 puffs at a time and then it's put away. With a a cigarette you have to stand until it's smoked, 5 minutes puffing away.

It's an alternative way of smoking and feels like a different habit altogether.

If ecigs looking cool turns teens away from real fags then I think that's good. Encouraging the non-smoking ones to start is bad.

Good luck btw OP

If I'd caught any of mine smoking at 15 I'd have sewn their lips together. That's either before or after grounding them and removing all pocket money for the foreseeable future (like, forever). I appreciate however that this is not helpful.

Maybe re-think the way they get money?

You pay their bills and buy their clothes within your budget.

And that's it. You're enabling them.