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Since it's founding in 1997, the CYC-Net discussion group has been asked thousands of questions. These questions often generate many replies from people in all spheres of the Child and Youth Care profession and contain personal experiences, viewpoints, as well as recommended resources.
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Questions and Responses have been reproduced verbatim.
Listen to thisWe are wondering how other youth care facilities
in Nova Scotia will be dealing with the new legislation around youth and
smoking. For example, Will YCW's or Social Workers still be able to "give
permission" for a youth to smoke, considering it is illegal for youth to
smoke? What about YCW's who allow youth to smoke in their cars or while out
for a coffee and a chat? Do other facilities require youth to leave the
property to smoke, and is this in effect "giving permission"?
Looking forward to hearing how others are dealing with the issue.
Kim N.
...
Hi Kim
I work in a Residential Treatment Centre for Adolescent Boys in Southern
Ontario where we have to deal with the same issue. To place our situation
properly I should tell you that our Centre is located in a rural setting on
about 3 acres of property and is well away from any stores and we also have
a Section 19 classroom on site: about 75 percent of our residents smoke. The
reality we deal with is that most of our residents have 'behavioural'
issues; have already been involved negatively with authority and aren't
about to give up smoking because a 'piece of paper' says it's illegal. Our
team decided that the law is basically unenforceable, especially when we're
working to establish therapeutic relationships with these residents and
having a war over smoking wouldn't be 'therapeutic' especially considering
that half of our staff smoke as well. So we tolerate smoking in a designated
area outside within view of the staff office window, and that the residents
ask permission to have a 'break'.
No smoking is permitted in the building: smoking
paraphernalia (lighters, papers, etc.) are confiscated if found in the
building; staff do not smoke in front of residents; nor do they smoke or
permit smoking in vehicles when transporting residents and no staff purchase
cigarettes or lighters for residents.
So far this approach has worked. It is both pragmatic and unambiguous. It
doesn't condone or encourage smoking, but it does avoid taking a
hypocritically judgmental stance, and it recognises that, like King Canute,
we can't stop the tide from coming in. I hope this helps.
David W.
CYW
...
HI Kim,
I do not see the issue, here, the goverment has said its
illegal for kids to smoke, and have them in thier possesion. Whether we
agree with the statue thats a different story, but until it is changed we
have to follow it, to me it would be the same as alchol, or drugs, do we
allow this. This is going to have to be treated like the rest, now if we
disagree with the legislation, then we need to take steps to let the law
makers know that. To me the issue of what we do seems pretty clear, and yes
it is going to be a pain to deal with, what is not so clear is how we feel
about the law, with that said, if you were going out with a child would you
let them have a beer, if so why not, cause the same logic for me now applies
to smoking.
just my 2 cents.
David Rent
...
In open custody where the clients are allowed independent outings and walks
it is near impossible to stop the clients from smoking as they can go and
"mooch" cigarettes from a multitude of different sources. We can control
what the clients do on our property and ensure they do not have contraband
while in the house but this is about as far as I can see it extending. It
will be very hard for the province to police this rule. How are the powers
that be planning to enforce such a legislation?
Neil
...
Howdy Kim,
With the whole "illegal" thing regarding youth under age smoking, and do we
allow it; therefore we are in effect contributing to a minor and
subsequently...irresponsible adult youth workers. Well well now. If a youth
is going to smoke, then a youth is going to whether we are handing them out
or not. Although I do not condone it, nor do I ever hand them out like it's
candy, I do not consequence them if they decide to smoke. What I do is let
them know that they are underage and that it really isn't good for their
"still developing lungs." While on shift I also let the youth know that they
smoking anywhere on or near the property is not permitted. Letting a youth
smoke in the car in which a staff is driving, is really absurd and not
modelling the most ideal of behaviour.
While it is understandable that youth may be going through some traumatic
issues and as well, be addicted and therefore want a cigarette, adults still
need to be responsible and strong in their guidance and stance. Hopefully
things will not get too out of hand regarding this burning issue.
Thanks,
Linda.
...
Has ADCRF received official notification from the Dept. as to what will
change because of the new legislation. I know of one agency who has not
received any information as to what to implement and how. So things remain
the same, everyone smokes outside the door. I guess we will stay tuned. I
believe that the timing is just off with legislation in place but no
specifics in regards to the houses. Smoking is a topic that has created much
conversation in our environment. The youth have varying degrees of
addictions and withdrawal symptoms from general crankiness to serious
threats. The decision that workers make whether to loan/give youth
cigarettes when they are craving causes a difficult situation. Some workers
want to help the youth get through the craving and others sooth the
discomfort with a cigarette. Simply to say that legally it is a no-no does
not cover it. The worker on one shift drops the youth a cigarette and the
staff coming on the following shift has to deal with the subsequent craving.
Some issues that arise allow a variety of methods but there only seems to be
one correct one here. The youth know that it is illegal for us to give them
cigarettes (or they should). How does this affect the relationship between
worker and youth. That the worker cares so much that they are willing to
risk their job. With the push to eliminate cigarettes/smoking in youth,
should we expect some lawsuits in the future as parents/caregivers call us
on our ethically incorrect decision to supply their children with
cigarettes. Retail stores may not sell cigarettes to youth so how can we
justify giving them. It is also illegal to purchase alcohol for youth – would you give a youth in care a bottle of Rum if they asked for it. If we
banned together and the youth knew that they would not receive cigarettes
from staff, then we wouldn't have to deal with the issue of some do/some
don't. I also wonder if the youth ever feel guilty that they have a hand in
this. I know at least one who may and that is to many. Comments?????
...
I have received your mail and can appreciate the dilemma in which you find
yourself. I work for a residential care centre for boys under sixteen who
have been sent by the courts. This smoking situation created a great deal of
controversy as to the professional ethics of giving or allowing young people
to smoke. As a staff body we made a decision to cease the practice of
smoking on the units, for everybody i.e. staff and boys alike. The policy
was implemented on a blanket scale on 31st Jan 2002 and quite simply it has
been a resounding success. At the start it drove smoking underground amongst
the boys but this soon faded out. On rare occasions a boy might obtain a
cigarette, usually on a family visit, but this is not regarded as "end of
the world stuff". The simplest step to eradicate smoking by the young people
is to make the decision, inform them what is about to happen, involve them
in the decision i.e. THE DATE, then just let it rock and roll. WE are the
adults and although they need our guidance and direction they are not
stupid. Try it you will be surprised.
Regards from Ireland.
Dermot.
...
Hi Kim,
About a year ago the agency I work for was forced to have a "no smoking
policy". Ultimately we cannot control whether kids smoke or not, but our
message to them is we are not encouraging it. We try to have our youth smoke
away from the front of the residence, sometimes this is not successful.
Really it is a policy we have to say we have, and we try to enforce more
when licensing time approaches. The kids understand that we as staff have
rules too and this just happens to be one of the more annoying ones.
Good luck!!
Amy
...
I have three thoughts on the smoking issue. Oh maybe more than three, but I
will limit myself for brevity.
1. Yes, it is against the law. Youth who have difficulty with laws, rules,
authority and being safe and legal need to be held accountable for their
actions. Smoking is one example of how we may teach youth about following
rules. It is not just a matter of telling the youth to go smoke away from
where we can't see them. This sends a message that it is ok as long as I
don't see you. This is often understood as they don't care as long as I
don't get caught. Such mixed messages with youth may mean it is only wrong
when I get caught. I this the kind of thinking I would want to encourage?
No, I don't think so, Homy don't play that.
2. The safety net. Years ago, before smoking was illegal youth is a program
I worked at had the privilege of smoking and it was built into the reward
system. Seems like it encouraged teen smoking. Any way, the line was then
drawn that drugs like pot and acid were the real issue. We were finding pot
and dealing with kids on acid quiet frequently. This all changed when we
stopped the smoking and made it the line. Rather than street drugs being
brought in we found kids trying to sneak in cigarettes. This is the concept
of the safety net at work. When making rules and enforcing laws I make the
limit so that when they cross the line they have a safety net to fall into.
I would rather the issue be about smoking that about meth, cocain or other
more dangerous drugs. Kid will always push the limits and rules to help them
come to their own conclusion about morals and values.
3. Smoking is unhealthy and results in a variety of illnessess. Just as
Safety should be a high priority I want the youth to know that I value
health and want them to be healthy. I always error on the side of safety and
health in activities and when a youth is injured. Same with other activities
which may affect the health of the youth. This includes diet and other
factors. If youth know we are concerned about their health and safety they
may to see this as an important aspect of their own life. Caring for oneself
and having the self concept to make good choices about life is a step
towards independence.
Lastly, Consequences: When a youth is caught smoking We address it as a
program expectation, a health issue and a law. It may be the youth will need
to do some related community service around the smoking issue. This could be
at a cancer unit or elder care facility where they could help those who are
suffering from smoking related health issues. They may have an assignment of
smoking and health. There is any number of ways of consequating the behavior
so they know that I do not condone, encourage or accept them smoking. I
don't have to call the police and have them given a ticket for smoking
unless they continue to do it and are encouraging others. Youth are funny
about this stuff. If they know I don't care, either do they. If they know I
don't care then they seem to respect me less and try to get other things
over on me. If I am consistently pushing the values of the program and
holding them accountable they may not like it but they know I care. I don't
need to have a heavy hammer to beat them over the head. I just need to
respond in a manner that says NO!
Oh well, one more thing. By having the youth go away from the front entrance
and smoke, a negative sub-culture is being created. I doubt that any staff
accompany the youth to go smoke. So while youth are hanging out smoking they
are creating relationships which may also not be supported by the values of
the program. Along with this, if the program is within the community it does
not take long for the word to get out that the program does not provide
supervision for the youth and that they roam around in gangs. Even if this
is not the case the neighbors will see it like this. This has been the case
with school as well as treatment programs I have been associated with. Being
a community partner and responding to their concerns is very important to
maintaining a positive image in the community. I try to get feedback from
those around us so I know how they view the youth and the program. I want to
respond to their concerns.
Well enough from my perspective. Hope it is helpful.
Larry
...
I totally agree with Amy, politicians and dictators make these laws/rules
that are not being supported by other people. This in itself make things
challenging, we have parents who allow smoking, we have stores that sell
cigarettes to minors, we have police that don't bother to enforce the law
around minors smoking. I am sure courts would be backed up for many years if
police enforced the smoking by laws. This is one of those things where we do
not encourage and say don't do on our/agency property but yet the youth are
on other peoples properties.
Tom Jones
...
Is smoking not like anything else we work with? Stealing is wrong and
against the law but when it is presented to us as a problem we don't simply
say "There will be no stealing here!" as if a long-standing problem can be
solved at the stroke of a legislative pen. We start work on it ... Hitting
people over the head with a broom handle is against the law, so is smoking
dope, so is lying about your age in a bar ... but we don't solve these
issues ONLY by saying "You can't do that here!" Why should smoking be
different?
Mike
...
Hello all,
So here is a little twist on the smoking issue for me.
At my job we have always condemned smoking. Well recently I talked to a
friend who works in a group home for aborginal youth, and she mentioned
something about smoking. My response was "you let them smoke". It turns out
that the youth in her group home are given a tin of tobacco every week. She
told me that this is also paid for by the government. She went on to say
that tobacco is never supposed to be denied to aboriginal youth. I had never
heard this before, and do tell aboriginal clients to stop smoking and
consequence them if they do. Has anyone else heard this before or know
anything more about it? It really does change a lot of things and pose many
new questions if this is in fact the case.
Cheers
Lilah Danielle
...
In reply to Lilah Lawson's input yesterday: I think the reasoning the
government ensures indigenous youth are not denied tobacco is that some
indigenous people use tobacco as part of their ceremonies, and tobacco is
used as gifts in some of their cultures. That said not all indigenous people
follow their traditions or cultures, and not all nations have the same
traditions. Also, I don't think the government is saying they are allowed to
smoke, just that they are allowed tobacco. Probably this is why your
friend's home buys them a tin rather than packages.
Leslie
...
Tobacco for Aboriginal youth is not necessarily for just smoking, but is
also used in smudging as part of their traditional culture.
...
Shmoking, shmoking, shmoking, Illegal for under age, yes. As well, adults
who provide cigarettes to youth, especially youth in care who have morphed
thoughts on what is decent, loving, proper and healthy, are adding to the
turmoil. However, lest we forget that this is a field in which we are to
hold our judgements at bay for the sake of 'Solution Focus'. Send those
letters of protest if you will. Send them to your superiors and supervisors,
etceteras, etceteras. Send them to those you would have involved in the
remedy of such illegal goings on, and send them consistently. The squeaky
wheel gets the grease folks.
Please...remember to offer solutions or possible approaches to the problem thereof. Like for instance, offer incentives to staff who do not dole out 'Smogs' {As I likes to calls 'em} and see how you can fast track that to other agency.
{Yes, yes...I can here the wheels turning now...that this is not practical or even doable because it's impossible to track who is and who is not sneaking them to the youth.} It is hard to know beyond a shadow of a doubt who is being honest about it and who is not. Blind faith, I surmise, can sometimes be a very powerful tool. This is just one solution I have come across that has worked for others. I am no expert but I have learned to open my mind and try many things that would be otherwise considered a 'foolish idea". Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Just posing a thought or two.
Thanks. Linda.
...
Having staff arbitrarily deciding which laws are to be followed or not is
poor policy and lousy role modeling for youth.
Jeff Glass
