SMOKING IN TEENAGERS

Abstract:

With the wide spread knowledge of the consequences of health due to tobacco
use, smoking is a common global issue. Most countries in the past decades have
intensify efforts to reduce smoking generally in public and at the same time to
stop young people from smoking.

According to Denscombe (2001) research in the medical field has indicated that
cessation in smoking is beneficial when reducing the consequent risk in lung
cancer especially when people stop smoking in their middle age, of late the
government has acknowledged termination of smoking is the chief apparatus in
reducing tobacco consumption in the United Kingdom. However, government
attention is placed on adults who express desire to quit smoking. In view of
young children most especially those under 16 years, the aim is to prevent them
from forming the habit of smoking in place of stopping them from smoking.
Smoking of cigarettes is a widespread behaviour within youngsters and a path to
adulthood.

Introduction

Introduction:

Over the last two decades there has been an upward trend in smoking among
the youths in Britain. Although, there has been a decline in smoking among the
youths within the age of 14 15 in the late 90,s generally the trend has been
increasing. Smoking among youngsters has been linked to health risks and the
chances of being in a smoker at adulthood. Most youngsters that smoke at early
age continue to smoke throughout their life because nicotine is ne addictive. The
after effect of smoking for these youngsters is that during their adulthood they
are affected with cancer, heart diseases and sudden death.

According to the British Medical Journal (2000) youngsters who give up smoking
have the chance of avoiding lung cancer. The study indicated that the numbers
of young smokers that stops smoking to those that continue to smoke are lower
to risk, since they have stopped but not has lower than those who do not smoke.
Nevertheless, the risk is not as low as those that did not smoke at all.

The government of the United Kingdom is dedicated to lowering the numbers of

youngsters that smoke. The target that was set was to stop the high numbers of
youngsters that smoke and thereafter to attain a lower proportion of those that
smoke. A baseline of 13% was used as a smoking frequency within the age
group of children from 11-15 that smoke in 1996, their objective was to lessen
the percentage to 11% by 2005 and 9% by 2010. The most important part of the
approach is the provisions of support and advice for youngsters that want to quit
smoking as a result this group of people are prioritise in terms of the
government health policy.

Until recent most studies of young children and smoking is based on the
prevalence of smoking cigarette, the first experience of smoking, age at which
children smoke and the early experimentation of smoking, also is the pressure of
their peers and the problem of addiction.