Need to change youth's perception about smoking

To assess the smoking habits of youth and their perception of smoking, the Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, under the guidance of Dr. Samir Parikh, conducted a survey among adolescents. The team engaged and interacted with adolescent teenagers to keep a tab of their prevalent attitudes towards tobacco smoking.

Impressions of health dangers and habit were classified as

 Idealistic among smoking youth,

 Skeptical among non-smoking youth, and

 Reasonable among a bit of more seasoned smoking youth.

Monitoring the health hazard that happens by utilizing or abusing drugs persuades most youngsters (and grown-ups) to avoid them. But, imagine a scenario in which you don't think certain medications are dangerous.

1900 students were randomly chosen from six states, Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Chennai, to be a part of the study. They were asked to fill in a structured survey comprising 13 questions. The results were systemized using statistical measures and disclosed patterns from which inferences were drawn. These inferences are of value because they can be used as evidence to formulate policy frameworks and regulatory mechanisms to control smoking among the adolescents.

As indicated by the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking kills more than 7 million individuals every year. 6 million of these individuals die as a result of the tobacco use, while around 890 000 casualties are non-smokers who have been more vulnerable to the second-hand smoke.

Few noteworthy findings of the study:

89% teenagers agreed that if it's ok for their parents to smoke, then its ok for them too.

87% teenagers believe that watching actors smoke in movies promotes smoking making a profound impact on the common audience

85% teenagers admitted that it is okay to try one's hand in smoking at least once.

78% teenagers admitted knowing if anyone smokes in their school.

78% teenagers agree that celebrity figures featuring in anti-smoking campaigns would be helpful.

75% teenagers feel that it is tough to say "NO" to their friends or peers when they offer a cigarette.

63% teenagers believe that disclaimers showing harmful consequences of smoking do help in its prevention.

53% teenagers think that smoking can assist in distressing situations

52% teenagers believe smoking helps increase concentration levels.

46% teenagers believed that they would begin to smoke in efforts to appear  cool and mature among their peers.

19% teenagers believe that talking to a counselor can help in preventing possible addiction to smoking.

Inferences:

Media: Media can play a pivotal role in promoting or persuading young boys and girls from smoking. Young minds are extremely impressionable so there are ample of chances that media might make smoking look cool.

Peer Pressure: Peer Pressure can cause youngsters get accustomed to smoking at a tender age. This is because there is a need to impress others. Being cool is important and is integral to the image that they present to their peers. This can lead them to be in a risky behavior unmindful of the consequences. Teenagers need to be counseled about peer pressure and how they can handle it in an optimistic way.

Parents: Parents need to take on a supportive role. Penalizing the child doesn't often doesn't lead anywhere either, instead engaging with the adolescent will be beneficial so that he or she can take on the ownership of seeking professional help and counseling to overcome their addiction.

Professional Help: Professional help is unparalleled and addictive behaviors do not change abruptly but through a series of episodes. Research shows that professional help can amp up your chances to quit smoking up to four times. Professional telephone advisors provide encouragement, resources and support to help smokers quit. Support and motivation are a very important part of a successful recovering addict, and once a person has developed a dependence on a substance, it's pretty much difficult to resist. Counseling in such a scenario for the recovering addict as well as the family is very helpful

Dr. Samir Parikh, Director, Department of Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, Fortis Healthcare said, "Understanding that there is a problem which needs to be addressed is the first step towards overcoming tobacco addiction. Smoking is plaguing the society and we are moving into an era where it is acceptable for younger age groups to begin smoking and engage in other risky behavior. This will only lead to the early onset of lifestyle-related diseases and therefore we need to promote adequate training and empowerment of any caregiver who actively works with children to ensure that early identification and timely intervention take place. In order to wage a war against tobacco use, one must be fully equipped with adequate knowledge about how tobacco can affect the mind and body. The support system of anyone overcoming addiction must realize that the power of psychological dependence is extremely strong and can only be broken by taking small incremental steps over a period."