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Smoking among students has fallen: study
PESHAWAR, May 25(Dawn): The prevalence of smoking among university students has
decreased from 34 per cent in 2003 to 25 per cent in 2006, according to a
study.
The study was conducted jointly by pulmonology ward of the Khyber
Teaching Hospital (KTH), psychology department of the Peshawar University and
the Abaseen Foundation.
Just under 1,190 students belonging to the Khyber
Medical College, the University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, and
various departments of the Peshawar university took part in the
survey.
According to the study, smoking among girls decreased by 5 per
cent during the period under review.
The study found that on an average a
student spent Rs40 per day on buying cigarettes.
The study in question is
the third one conducted by the same team that is headed by head of the KTH's
pulmonology ward Dr Mukhtar Zaman Afridi.
A study conducted in 2000 had
found that of the total 511 people questioned, of whom 384 were men and 127
women, 19.7 per cent men and 0.18 per cent women smoked.
A similar study
carried out in 2003 showed that of the 436 students, including 337 males and 95
females who took part in the survey, 33.8 per cent males and 5 per cent females
smoked. Smoking among students registered a decline in 2006, with 24.5 males and
0.6 per cent females acknowledging that they smoked.
The study claimed
that most of the students who smoked said that they had been influenced by
smokers in their families (87 per cent) and they were between six and 17 years
of age when they started smoking.
The 2006 study had shown that of the
total 234 smokers, 163 acknowledged that it caused cancer, while 33 disagreed
and 21 declined to comment. Similarly 149 knew that smoking caused asthma and
174 were aware that it caused breathing problems. One hundred and sixty-seven of
them also knew that tobacco use caused teeth- and gum-related
problems.
It said that 105 smokers acknowledged risks to their health
because of the habit, while 85 cared little about its hazards.
It said
that awareness about the hazards to pregnant women and infants posed by
cigarette use was found among the 154 smokers. The family income of students who
indulged in smoking was found to be above Rs1,000 a month.
It said that
awareness about cigarettes' injurious effects had risen, about 85 per cent of
the university students knew about health warnings printed on cigarette
packets.
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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