|
Minister is glad survey shows fall in figures, but says more must be done
Fewer students in Secondary 1 to 4 are lighting up, statistics from the Students’ Health Survey 2009 show.
Released by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) yesterday, the figures show that 16 per cent of young people had tried smoking.
This is down from 26 per cent in 2000 and 19 per cent in 2006.
The survey, which covered about 3,000 secondary school students, also showed that 6 per cent of young people had smoked at least once in the last 30 days.
This is down from 9 per cent in 2006.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, said yesterday that while he was glad the numbers have come down, they are “still way too high”.
“It just illustrates the seriousness of the problem, and why we need to use all channels available to really speak to young people in their language and in an effective way,” he added.
 He was the guest of honour at the Live It Up! Without Lighting Up Party outside Plaza Singapura in Orchard Road. Activities included flash mobs formed by 1,200 young people to send messages about the benefits of staying smoke-free.
Psychologist Daniel Koh said the dip in smoking numbers could be due to the fact that the Government has put out a lot of information about the dangers of lighting up.
“Teens used to think it made you look tough, but now the image has changed and it is associated with things like bad teeth and cancer,” he said.
Secondary 3 student Ian Soon, 15, said: “Smoking isn’t cool because it has plenty of harmful effects like cancer. I find it’s a very expensive and unhealthy habit, and I would not want my family to worry about me.”
The HPB will be exploring additional anti-smoking programmes in secondary schools, especially as the survey showed that the starting age of puffing has increased from 12 years to 13 years.
Said Ms Prema V, the HPB’s youth health division deputy director: “We are starting new programmes such as celebrity school tours where celebrities will lead students in games and chat segments about being smoke-free.”
“But these won’t be one-off events. We will find ways to make them sustainable,” she added.
|