A study was recently done in Jamaica as part of the Global Youth Survey. In this study, seven in 10 students thought smoking should be banned in public places. We must commend our young people for their foresight and wisdom.

The fact is studies have shown that the person who inhales smoke either exhaled by the smoker or from a burning cigarette is also at risk for the diseases of the smoker.

The study also revealed some interesting findings about cigarette smoking among young people in Jamaica. Cigarette smoking is a growing among young people; 37 per cent of students reported that they had ever smoked cigarette and 22 per cent currently use tobacco products.

Cigarette smoking at an early age may lead to many problems. For example, when young people smoke, they are more likely to become addicted. In fact, 50 per cent of adults who smoke reported that they had become regular users of cigarettes by age 18. All smokers are at increased risk of smoking-related illnesses. Other studies on cigarette smoking have also made interesting findings:

Increased risk of dying

This is even greater among young people who smoke. Young people who smoke are therefore at greater risk from dying prematurely from smoking-related diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease and strokes. The difficulty we sometimes have in communicating illness and death to young people is that they are in the prime of their lives and many of them don't appreciate the notion of illness and death as possible. Many of them feel invincible and think illness and death only happen to older people. The reality is, of course, that we will all grow old and with risky behaviours such as smoking, young people increase their risk of becoming ill or dying earlier than necessary.

Smoking is linked to other behaviours

Most studies indicate that cigarette smoking is associated with other unhealthy behaviours and habits such as cannabis smoking, being involved in fights, carrying weapons and engaging in high-risk sexual practices such as unprotected sexual intercourse. We are not saying that it is the actual smoking of cigarettes that lead to these behaviours but that the habit places some young people at greater risk of these behaviours than others.

Reasons for smoking

People smoke for several reasons. Here is a list of reasons given by young people.

1. Advertising: The advertisement of cigarettes is recognised as a major factor influencing youth smoking. Six out of every 10 Jamaican youth reported that they saw advertisements on billboards, in newspapers or magazines.

2. Influences: Children learn what they live. Three in 10 students live in houses where others smoke and six in 10 students reported that they are exposed to smoke in public.

3. Availability: Cigarettes and cannabis are too easily available to young people in Jamaica. About 35 per cent of students in the recent survey indicated that they bought cigarettes in a store and 70 per cent who bought cigarettes in a store reported that they were not refused purchase based on their age.

4. Influences in the wider society: The influences in the wider society are major factors impacting young people's decision to smoke cigarettes. Some of these influences include the lack of a clear policy and the lack of legislation to restrict sale to minors and smoking in public. Interestingly, as stated above, seven in 10 students think smoking should be banned in public spaces in Jamaica.

Dr Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and head, Section of Psychiatry, Dept Of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, 977-1108; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.

What can we do?

There are several things that we can do as a society.

1. Refer people who smoke for help. If you or someone has a smoking problem, then you should consult your health-care provider or an agency such as RISE (formerly Addiction Alert).

2. We need to support the call for a more effective media campaign to decrease smoking, especially among the youth.

3. We should support all efforts to reduce the sexy depictions of cigarettes in media and entertainment.

4. Use every opportunity to discourage family and friends from providing cigarettes to young people.

5. We need to strengthen our school-based anti-smoking programmes.

6. Support the call for young people to have cigarette smoking banned in public. This is a worthy venture our young people are calling for and, as adults, we should listen to their cries.