3 million teenagers are active smokers

JAKARTA: A recent survey by Pelita Ilmu Foundation revealed that over three million teenagers are active smokers, with some 20 percent of them still in junior high school.

Psychologist A. Kasandra Oemarjadi of the foundation was quoted by tempointeraktif.com as saying on Tuesday that a third of the students remain smokers until their adult years and die prematurely of various diseases caused by smoking.

The average starting age of smokers, she said, has dropped alarmingly to between 12 years and 14 years old, while 20 years ago, it was still 16.

Kasandra added that tackling tobacco abuse was particularly difficult as compared with other drugs tobacco is considered a legal substance normally consumed by adults.

She called on parents to be at the forefront in the fight against the multimillion dollar tobacco industry and convincing the public that smoking is hazardous to one's health. -- JP