Smoking widespread among students in Bandarlampung

Smoking widespread among students in Bandarlampung

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Ignoring international No-Tobacco Day, which fell on May 31, a
group of junior high school students clad in their school
uniforms were found smoking in a side alley in the city of Bandar
Lampung.

The teenagers left their school campus and hid in the side
alley to escape the attention of adults.

It is not very difficult to find people smoking in public
places and buildings, including hospitals and government offices
in the city, despite restrictions and warnings.

Almost all public places and buildings in the city display no-
smoking stickers and pamphlets but visitors and their employees
do not heed them.

"It is difficult to prevent children and students from
smoking. They comply with the ban while in school but as soon as
they are outside we cannot control them," Antara quoted a female
teacher of a state junior high school as saying here on Friday.

The several teenagers found smoking in the side alley were
elementary school students. When asked why they smoked they said
it was their right to do so.

"But, I have never smoked at home," said Ari, a student of a
private junior high school in the city.

The students admitted smoking was a regular habit and they put
aside part of their pocket money to buy cigarettes. "Yes, we
frequently ride in public buses without paying the fare so we can
use the transport money to purchase cigarettes," said Ari.

Parents have expressed anxiety about their children's smoking
habits, saying it could lead to drug abuse.

"Smoking will develop into drug abuse, as is the trend among
high school and university students nowadays," said Aryo, a
father of two high school students in the city.

He said his two sons admitted regularly smoking and both
started because their colleagues did.

"It is difficult to ask them to stop smoking because I myself
am a heavy smoker and the mass media aggressively, extensively
advertise cigarettes."

Hadiarto Mangunegoro, a tuberculosis specialist from the
University of Indonesia, called for a nationwide anti-smoking
campaign with the government playing an active role, because the
health scare approach was found ineffective in preventing people
from smoking.

"The government should gradually reduce the number of
cigarette factories to a minimum and impose high taxes on them so
that cigarette producers increase the price of their products.
The government should ban people from smoking in public places,
including public transport and impose stiffer sanctions against
under-age people who are found smoking," he said.

He said warnings on the negative health impact of smoking in
banners, public places and the mass media were found to be
ineffective because the number of smokers has gradually
increased.

According to data from the health ministry, the number of
smokers has reached 70 percent of the population and 60 percent
of them were from low-income households. Indonesia consumes 1.99
billion cigars and is the world's third largest consumer of
tobacco after China.

The World Health Organization (WHO) predicted four million
people die annually from smoking-related diseases, such as brain,
lung cancer and the figure is expected to double in the next five
years.