Bandar Seri Begawan - It is estimated based on latest research that 50 per cent of new born children up to the age of five in Brunei Darussalam are exposed to tobacco smoke at home as their parents are smokers. This means that they are easily influenced when they grow up, Dr Hajah Anie Haryani binti Haji Abdul Rahman, Acting Director of Health Environment, said at the workshop on Tobacco from Islamic View and Health held yesterday at the ICC in Berakas in conjunction with the Knowledge Convention 2012.

Research conducted a several secondary schools showed that the school authority has implemented various initiatives to control the use of tobacco. Among students 17 per cent are smokers, and 87 per cent familiar with at least one other student smoking. She said teachers should be good examples though some smoke at school.

She said one of the ways to ensure a healthy life is to avoid all tobacco related products. The government has implemented various initiatives to control the use of tobacco among the public by enforcing the Tobacco Order 2005.

Today, an estimated 150 million youths worldwide consume tobacco. An estimated one-third of all young smokers will die at young age through diseases that are related with tobacco. Most of the tobacco consumers worldwide start from young age and according to US research 90 per cent of adult smokers start smoking before or after 18.

She said second-hand smoke kills more than 600,000 people annually including 165,000 children. Tobacco also causes the world to spend US$500 billion annually to cover medical cost, loss of productivity, damage caused by fires and other costs.