Curbing Young From Picking Up Smoking Habit
By Sobrina Rosh

Brunei-Muara - There is no conclusive evidence to show the prevalence of schoolchildren attempting to smoke cigarettes in the sultanate, based on a study the results of which were presented at a conference yesterday.

However, the study entitled "An Evaluation of the impact of Anti-Smoking Initiatives in School Health Promoting Programme among Primary Schools in Brunei Darussalam" involved only seven government schools.

Nonetheless, Nik Ani Afiqah Tuah, a lecturer of Universiti Brunei Darussalam who presented the study at the Medical Science Conference, stressed the need for increased attention on preventing primary schoolchildren from picking up the habit of smoking.

"The primary school age is between 5 to 12 years old. This is the age group that we have little focus on ... (and they are) our greatest investment for the future," said Nik Ani.

Smoking among young adolescents can be prevented through an early intervention approach in which parents and teachers can emphasise the consequences of smoking. Adolescents also need to be made aware of ways to deal with peer pressure, which the lecturer highlighted as one of the main reasons they start smoking.

The study suggests the use of an information campaign model that is appropriate to young adolescents. This includes the design of intervention programmes that make use of games.

Improvements are also needed in monitoring the outcome of intervention programmes.

The evaluation project was carried out this year with the participation of seven headmistresses and 13 teachers from government primary schools.

Results show a slight difference in how the anti-smoking programmes have been implemented among schools.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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