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Abdul: Substance Use

Abdul is fourteen. His mom smokes cigarettes. He worries about her because he learned that smoking tobacco can lead to cancer and it makes her cough a lot. Sometimes, he gets upset because they don’t have enough money to buy him new shoes because his mom needs to get cigarettes instead.

Abdul’s mom gets angry sometimes and yells at him and his brother when she hasn’t had a cigarette in a while. He knows that it’s not his fault when she gets upset and that his mom cares about his brother and him. She recently started to smoke outside so Abdul and his brother wouldn’t have to breathe in the smoke.

Years later, a friend asks Abdul if he wants a cigarette. Abdul thinks about saying yes. Even though he knows all the bad things that comes with smoking, he thinks it is okay because his mom smokes. He decides to talk to his mom about his friend asking him to smoke. She says that she doesn’t want him to smoke like she does. They talk about her going to talk to a therapist so Abdul’s mom can quit smoking.