Director of the National Drug Prevention Unit Jacinta Bannis has raised concern over tobacco use among secondary school students.
Pointing to a survey which the NDPU conducted in 2006, Bannis highlighted that over 30 percent of the secondary school population – at an average age of 12 years – had already engaged in smoking cigarettes.
The director, who spoke at a workshop geared at preventing tobacco use in the workplace this morning, said that according to statistics, male students were more involved in the practice.
“We were looking at the prevalence of drugs amongst secondary school students and under that caption we looked at tobacco or cigarettes. In this study 30.53 percent of the secondary school students had at least consumed tobacco once in their lives,” Bannis stated.
“13.18 percent had used tobacco in the past year of the study and 7.65 percent smoked cigarette one month prior to the study. And the age range was 12.1 years. So our children already smoking. If we had to do a study of the general population I think the figure would be much higher. It showed that our males were smoking much more than our females… Our males showed 10.88 percent while females were 4.89 percent,” she said.
“There’s a lot of work to do among our male students,” she said.
Labeled as the single most preventable cause of death worldwide, tobacco kills more than five million people a year – more than tuberculosis, malaria, or AIDS.
Health Educator Anthelia James told the workshop that surveys have proven tobacco to kill more than half of its regular users. She said that smoking is one of the main risk factors of non-communicable diseases which is the leading causes of death in Dominica.
James also stated that 10 out of every 100 Dominicans smoke while a substantial percentage of the nation’s children were being exposed to this second hand smoke.
She warned that even a brief exposure to tobacco smoke can be dangerous as it contains thousands of toxins – 37 of them being cancerous. These common toxins include cyanide, methane gas-normally found in sewers and formaldehyde which is a substance used to preserve dead bodies. Carbon monoxide and ammonia is also contained in tobacco smoke.
The toxins are found in tar at the end of the cigarette as one smokes. The wind dissipates it and people breathe it.
She said that 30 percent of CARICOMS deaths in males are related to smoking while 15 percent of female deaths are attributed to tobacco.
@de caribbean change – BBA, MBA, CPA:
People smoked even in your days…. You were just unaware!
Drug Prevention should target the ‘blocks’ where the young guys smoke in their villages, and educate the heck out of them about drugs! Even the older guys need correction, because that’s who influence the young guys.
Wake up Paix Bouche & Dominica, our young guys are slipping away.
Could not help but observe the flower arrangement.. These are real flowers from the Nature Isle, beautiful!
This survey was conducted in 2006…… I thought i would be reading about the steps that have been taken since then to at least reduce or prevent tobacco use at our schools….So we are still where we were in 2006 or are we worse?…. TO MUCH IS LEFT FOR THE TEACHERS!!!!!!
I would like to know what measures are taken at the school level to help deter and prevent smoking and drinking by students? We speak about smoking but we must also include drinking which is a far greater problem among the youth. I think we are so guilty as a society in looking the other way. We have allowed outside influences to plague us in terms of rights of a child. Back in my days, you could never be caught drinking or smoking while going to school. Now, we see students openly smoking in public!!! We see students drinking, drunk and disorderly!!! Who corrects them?
We need to enforce the law which prevents the sale of cigarettes and alcohol to minors!! We have a society plagued with teenage mothers and fathers. The majority of them are still growing up themselves therefore are unable to raise model citizens. The next line of defence should be the public. We all see it and allow it. Carnival, Creole Fest, Creole in the park, just to name a few of the venues where we see that kind of behaviour. Who is protecting these kids? What are the consequences of their actions? I remember we could not be caught out late else we would get punished by the school!!! If your teacher see you, there would be ramifications.
We need to stop talking and start acting. Stop having seminars to talk and eat. Instead, get to the people who are supposed to be enforcing the laws and ensure that they do their jobs.
Great work by the unit in terms of awareness. If we had the moral and political will then there would be a law banning sales of alcohol and tobacco to minors. If that could actually be effected this could go a long way towards curbing this problem.
We never smoked attending the SMA or the DGS or CHS or the WHS. What’s going on with our secondary school boys and girls today? What are our parents today doing about those things? Are they instilling anything good in our kids today? Is too much American television or what? Children learn what they live, and live what they learn. We need to start inculcating discipline and respect into the minds of the youths today. Teach, teach them well, and they will live by those good things taught. Are parents taking a deep interest in the upbringing of their kids today? Didn’t their parents teach them anything good when they were growing up or is it just western culture having them going loco and adopting a don’t care attitude? Wake Up, Wake Up!
Some misleading statistics at the end there: “related to” is a far cry from caused by or may have been caused by.
But all in all, a good article. Too many young people are smoking.
A very serious issue in DA…keep up the good work!