Smoking starts at schools: Study

KANNUR: The  youngsters aged below 18 cannot be sold tobacco products as per law but school students aged around 15 in the district find no problem in having a puff as they wish. There are any number of  outlets  near their schools from where they access the products. According to a survey conducted by the Kannur Medical College students,  over 70 per cent of higher secondary students  begin tobacco consumption at the age of 15.  The study report titled ‘Tobacco use among pre-university students in Kannur, Kerala: A cross-sectional study’ was published in the recent edition of the open- access,  peer-reviewed International Journal of Scientific Study.

Nearly a quarter of ‘ever users’ (those who have used tobacco at least once ) consume tobacco products on school premises, according to the study which surveyed 775 students in two higher secondary  schools in the district. Dr Sushrit A Neelopant,  assistant professor, department of community medicine, and Dr D. Shilpa,  department of radio diagnosis of Kannur Medical College collaborated in the study. Nearly 19 per cent of boy students between 15 and 18 years use tobacco in some  form and the prevalence of smoking is 18.15 per cent, says the study  which  covered 336 boys and 439 girls.

Dr Neelopant said, “the study was conducted to  provide  baseline information on higher secondary students and their tobacco use.  The students were also asked about the habits of family members, peer influence and tobacco control law in India,”  he said. Dr Shilpa   said, “the high percentage of cigarette smoking outside the school campus is a matter of concern.” “Programmes and interventions targeting young people with focus on preventing initiation together with cessation programmes are the need of the hour,” she added. The  majority of the students using the  products said that they got them easily from the shops nearby schools and a few others  secured them from their friends.