My 12 Year Old Sister Is Interested In Hookah

[newjacksm]

my little sister is interested in hookah i was talking to her about all the flavors, she lives in greece and I will be visting her and my dad in the summer which I will be bringing the MYA QT with me. I know I have some time, but how do I go about not looking like a bad influence and a bad brother?

I dont want to look like I am getting little kids hooked to hookah because "Oh wow Flavored smoke!!!" I tried telling her I try and smoke the brands that dont have the chemical taste to it because I am already harming my body enough with hookah, trying to scare her off a little. I am sure my dad and my step mom will tell her back off, but at the same time I dont want my dad and step mom to be like you brought this into my house???!

I can sort of seeing this going down in about 6 months..

[Arcane]

i'm not sure if there's smoking laws in Greece...but, if she's not legally allowed to do it...that's good enough for me. if there isn't...and you DON'T MIND her smoking, let her know that it definitely is not healthy for her and may possibly cause her complications later on in life...

if you DON'T want her smoking....pack a bowl of hooka-hookah, burn it and let her take a rip

[Rani]

[quote name='newjacksm' date='19 December 2009 - 12:56 PM' timestamp='1261256170' post='440334']
my little sister is interested in hookah i was talking to her about all the flavors, she lives in greece and I will be visting her and my dad in the summer which I will be bringing the MYA QT with me. I know I have some time, but how do I go about not looking like a bad influence and a bad brother?

I dont want to look like I am getting little kids hooked to hookah because "Oh wow Flavored smoke!!!" I tried telling her I try and smoke the brands that dont have the chemical taste to it because I am already harming my body enough with hookah, trying to scare her off a little. I am sure my dad and my step mom will tell her back off, but at the same time I dont want my dad and step mom to be like you brought this into my house???!

I can sort of seeing this going down in about 6 months..
[/quote]

"Get back to me when you're 18 and we'll talk about it."

Everybody knows there are certain things you can't do until you're at the required age. She's going to hear that many times over the next several years. I personally wouldn't smoke around her, but if you do, you might want to take along one flavor that tends to make you cough (almost everybody has at least one), or one that smells horrible to smoke (Zag?). Right after you give her that sentence, inhale and let it do it's job. Chances are she'll lose interest really fast.

'Rani

[KyleTheJustin]

Life is about choices and people will act according to influences, peer pressure (lol), and a variety of other factors that impact decision making. If your sister already shows interest in hookah, the probability that she will smoke it without you is more than likely. Instead of shunning it, maybe make her first smoke with you to help ensure that it goes well. Surely she knows the harm that comes from smoking, so lectures may work, but it sounds like her mind is set. Moderation remains the key to keeping any "unhealthy" habit enjoyable and much less dangerous than overexposure. That being said, I understand that she is your sister and you want the best for her, so maybe encourage her to do a bit of research, find out the negative effects of hookah smoking, and soundly make her decision after that. That sounds like a fair deal of work for a girl of only 12, but I assure you her interest and maturity will ultimately grow from the experience.

Being a role model doesn't mean shunning away the bad all of the time. Instead, like all mentors do, the idea behind moderation and self-control provides a very positive image for a younger audience.

Your call, man!

[contristo]

i think it's pretty relative. i was smoking hookah with my sister when she turned 17 but there are a bunch of 17 year olds not nearly mature enough to handle it.

i guess if you want a legal reply then the laws can tell you that, but as far as morals go it should just refer to your sister's character and level of maturity

[Sonthert]

I don't know how accurate it is, but there was a study I heard about that found that most people that are addicted to smoking started early on in life, as teenagers. The incidence of addiction in people who wait until the age of 18 to smoke is far, far lower. Addiction is slavery. Don't let it happen. This the tobacco manufacturer talking.

The hookah smoker says: Kids smoke it a lot. More than they should. If its not with you, it will be with somebody else. See if you can convince her to wait until she's 18. Tell her about addiction and people so desperate to kill themselves because they're addicted, they smoke cigarettes while they're hooked up to respirators. Its a decision you should consciously make, not just rush into though.

[newjacksm]

When the time comes I am just going to tell her when your older it will be better not now. Ill explain to her she still growing up and it could have bad effects on her.

[Chreees]

Yeah man, just tell her you'll explain it all to her later on when she's older. Twelve is waaaay too young...

[Jondd88]

Ya, it is a tough call.
My 17 year old sister wanted me to let her drink with me.
Initially I was unwilling to do it, but then I started thinking about it.
I know she can get alcohol without me, so I would much rather her be drinking under my supervision than with her stupid teenager friends.
I can keep her out of trouble instead of letting her friends get her into trouble.
It was the same line of thinking that caused my parents to permit me to drink underage as long as I did so at home.
I never really did drink alcohol until I moved out though...
I hope this helps.

[nars2k]

Honestly at this age she probably wont try it but give her a few years and if she doesnt with you ill guarantee she'll try it behind your back

[Sonthert]

Good point Jondd.

I would also ask you to think in terms of the future. Lets say you smoke hookah with your sister, she loves it and smokes more. She starts smoking cigarettes. 30 years from now, your sister gets lung cancer and lives in misery for 5 years longer until she dies a horrible, lingering, suffering death. Stand in your shoes on the day she dies and ask yourself what you want to do today. Will you feel guilty or be able to attribute her actions to her free will? If you can connect those events, feel OK about it and look forward with a clear conscience, then go ahead. Some people might judge you harshly, but I guess I feel like everyone is going to die, if we know the cause and have a name for the disease...it makes death more tragic? I don't think so.

[Jondd88]

[quote name='Sonthert' date='19 December 2009 - 04:48 PM' timestamp='1261270080' post='440423']
Good point Jondd.

I would also ask you to think in terms of the future. Lets say you smoke hookah with your sister, she loves it and smokes more. She starts smoking cigarettes. 30 years from now, your sister gets lung cancer and lives in misery for 5 years longer until she dies a horrible, lingering, suffering death. Stand in your shoes on the day she dies and ask yourself what you want to do today. Will you feel guilty or be able to attribute her actions to her free will? If you can connect those events, feel OK about it and look forward with a clear conscience, then go ahead. Some people might judge you harshly, but I guess I feel like everyone is going to die, if we know the cause and have a name for the disease...it makes death more tragic? I don't think so.
[/quote]

You make a very good point.
However, the way I see it, at 17, she only has 1 year before she is old enough to buy her own tobacco. (Actually, less than a month since her Bday is early Jan.)
If it takes 30 years for her to develop lung cancer, she would have had 29 years of her adult life to make the decision to quit and at that point it isn't anyone else's decision but hers.
By denying her hookah, at the best I am just delaying her lung cancer for 1 year.
This is assuming she doesn't just go behind my back and get it from someone else who doesn't take the time to explain the dangers of smoking and helping her make an educated decision.
I have already told her that smoking hookah is probably as dangerous as smoking cigarettes, her dumb teenager friends might try and tell her it is harmless, an unfortunately common misconception.
Also, I can make sure she learns how to do it correctly
Of course, 12 years is a bit younger, but I think my point remains basically the same.
However, Greece has no smoking age as far as I know, so that is a different situation.
I think it really depends more on the individual's attitude and maturity than the numbers on her birth certificate.
My point is, between the lesser of 2 evils, I would choose her smoking with me, being a responsible adult, than with her friends whom I don't know and may very well be reckless and stupid.

On a slightly relevant note, Eric.
She lives with my parents in San Diego where I grew up prior to moving to Nevada.
She turns 18 next month and wants to go to a hookah lounge to celebrate.
Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to visiting yours, which I have heard so many great things about, and I am dying to try some Tangiers prepared by The Man Himself.
We might be visiting you sometime next month while I am down there.
I think I might be more excited about it than she is

[Crys]

12 years old is young to start smoking biologically wise

I'd tell her to wait til she's at the very least 16...perferably 18

nicotine and some of the other chemicals in tobacco can be detrimental to growth especially during the years of puberty

I'd play it on the safe side

[mattarios2]

[quote name='Jondd88' date='19 December 2009 - 08:40 PM' timestamp='1261269642' post='440418']
Ya, it is a tough call.
My 17 year old sister wanted me to let her drink with me.
Initially I was unwilling to do it, but then I started thinking about it.
I know she can get alcohol without me, so I would much rather her be drinking under my supervision than with her stupid teenager friends.
I can keep her out of trouble instead of letting her friends get her into trouble.
It was the same line of thinking that caused my parents to permit me to drink underage as long as I did so at home.
I never really did drink alcohol until I moved out though...
I hope this helps.
[/quote]

agreed, my rents let me drink at a reasonably young age, they said the same thing. Drink here, don't drink elsewhere, and it worked. Completely telling off your kids of such activity makes it seem more appealing to them especially at a young age.

Many people in my family were too strict with their kids and when they were finally free, they rebelled to no end.

[indian_villager]

I'd say tell her to wait until she gets older. My sister is 17 and personally I feel a few months is not going to make her any smarter, wiser, or more responsible all of a sudden. So in this case I actually let her try it. Much better with me (someone who knows what they are doing), rather than some incompetent fool.

But in your case, she is 12. I'd tell her to wait (unless Greece has no laws regarding this, if that is the case it is to your discretion.)

[Chreees]

Just want to add that I did let my sister try my hookah once when I visited my hometown. She's 17. 12 is I feel just way too young to even consider letting her try it. At least wait until she's 16 or something...

[fineout]

[quote name='Jondd88' date='19 December 2009 - 05:40 PM' timestamp='1261269642' post='440418']
Ya, it is a tough call.
My 17 year old sister wanted me to let her drink with me.
Initially I was unwilling to do it, but then I started thinking about it.
I know she can get alcohol without me, so I would much rather her be drinking under my supervision than with her stupid teenager friends.
I can keep her out of trouble instead of letting her friends get her into trouble.
It was the same line of thinking that caused my parents to permit me to drink underage as long as I did so at home.
I never really did drink alcohol until I moved out though...
I hope this helps.
[/quote]
drinking at 17 is way different IMO, 17 is past when a lot of places in the world will let you drink and is very close to 18 when youre pretty much an adult, 12 is way way way too young to be smoking

[Bulldog_916]

I think the right thing to do is to wait until she completely understands the dangers of the activity (that after a while she could die from it, could get cancer, emphysema, etc). Understanding like that takes a while to garner. She's in the "nothing can hurt me" stage. I had my first glass of wine at 13 (I understood the risks), I tried cigarettes at 14 and hated them (knew the dangers), had my first smoke of a hookah at 20 (knew the dangers). Learning that in moderation most reasonable things wont kill you is important to know. If you feel that she can get a hold of it if she wants it badly enough is also a judgment that you must make as an adult. Tell her to ask about it in school, ask a doctor, ask her parents. Questions from the source of the "desire in question" help the person asking to better get what the dangers could be.

[Sonthert]

Law or not, if waiting until your 18 reduces the chances of addiction, you should do it.

I agree jondd, free will. People say "I was addicted by the tobacco companies, I got lung cancer, I'm suing." Give me a break. You chose to smoke each cigarette. My point is, rational or not, let NewJacks decide what that impact that event might have on his life. If he can't believe in free will enough to ameliorate that situation, then he should consider his action now accordingly. If he can justify his actions as free will on his sister's part, then he should play it by ear. I agree with you completely, though, jondd. I'm asking him to search his conscience. You and I might have it clear in minds, maybe he feels differently than we do. I have to think this way every day. I'm a tobacco manufacturer. If I can't subscribe wholeheartedly to free will...why would I sell a carcinogenic product, if I had any sort of conscience? All the wonderful people that smoke Tangiers, if I believed that people were puppets of addiction, circumstance and fate, I would have a messed up moral compass to make something that would shorten their lives.

[Jondd88]

[quote name='fineout' date='19 December 2009 - 09:41 PM' timestamp='1261287702' post='440478']
[quote name='Jondd88' date='19 December 2009 - 05:40 PM' timestamp='1261269642' post='440418']
Ya, it is a tough call.
My 17 year old sister wanted me to let her drink with me.
Initially I was unwilling to do it, but then I started thinking about it.
I know she can get alcohol without me, so I would much rather her be drinking under my supervision than with her stupid teenager friends.
I can keep her out of trouble instead of letting her friends get her into trouble.
It was the same line of thinking that caused my parents to permit me to drink underage as long as I did so at home.
I never really did drink alcohol until I moved out though...
I hope this helps.
[/quote]
drinking at 17 is way different IMO, 17 is past when a lot of places in the world will let you drink and is very close to 18 when youre pretty much an adult, 12 is way way way too young to be smoking
[/quote]

[size="2"]I agree.
[/size][size="2"]I believe 12 is too young to be smoking and if my sister was that young, I definitely would not have let her.[/size]
[size="2"]However, it is a lot harder for a 12 year old to go behind ones back and get it themselves here than it would be in a nation with no age limit on smoking.[/size]
[size="2"]Even if it is more harmful at that age, I still think smoking with a responsible adult is better than smoking with irresponsible peers of similar age and invincible mindset if they determined to try it.[/size][size="2"]
Kids are stubborn, I was a kid too not very long ago and I know that if they can get away with something without your permission, disallowing them does nothing to stop them.
Half of the things my parents didn't let me do, I ended up finding a way to do it anyways.
[/size][size="2"]I know that drinking at 17 is acceptable in most of the world, but here in the US, it seems a lot of people truly believe that anything under 21 is too young.[/size]
[size="2"]I hear people and the media make a big deal when someone underage gets alcohol as if on your 21st birthday you wake up magically a more responsible person.[/size]
[size="2"]My story wasn't as extreme of an example, but I believe the point I was trying to make remains the same and I figured drawing on personal experience would help me get that point across.[/size] Edited December 20, 2009 by Jondd88

[newjacksm]

Well of course I am not going to let her smoke hookah with me... I just didnt know how to go about it. What the best way of telling her "No" was.

[blagage]

My little sister is interested in hookah as well. Well my little sisters. one is 13 and the other is 14. When i am smoking i dont allow them to do it even if they say our parents said it was okay. It is an uncomfortable thing for me. Now if my sister walks in and asks to smoke or as they say "i just want to make o's." I respond with a prompt spray to the face with water. Like a cat. Has worked so far. hah. I have let them smoke once but i was drunk.

[Sonthert]

So tell her the longer she waits, the less likely she will become addicted and she can enjoy it more when she wants to, not feel she needs to do it.

[Arcane]

[quote name='blagage' date='20 December 2009 - 01:30 PM' timestamp='1261351831' post='440624']
Now if my sister walks in and asks to smoke or as they say "i just want to make o's." I respond with a prompt spray to the face with water. Like a cat.[/quote]haha...that's hilarious!!

put a teaspoon of vinegar in there too...makes it a bit more effective.

[Chreees]

[quote name='blagage' date='20 December 2009 - 05:30 PM' timestamp='1261351831' post='440624']
My little sister is interested in hookah as well. Well my little sisters. one is 13 and the other is 14. When i am smoking i dont allow them to do it even if they say our parents said it was okay. It is an uncomfortable thing for me. Now if my sister walks in and asks to smoke or as they say "i just want to make o's." I respond with a [b]prompt spray to the face with water. Like a cat.[/b] Has worked so far. hah. I have let them smoke once but i was drunk.
[/quote]

LMAO. This just made my day...