Smoking habits of school children in Rangoon

ABSTRACT

A survey of smoking habits of schoolchildren in Rangoon was carried out on a random sampleof 4,503 schoolchildren in 5 High School. All the children were of the age between10 and 20. The survey by question naire method was aimed at finding out the prevalenceof smoking habits of schoolchildren, sex differences, age at which smoking starts and when it becomes regular. Also some social factors as well as psychological ones that might have an influence on acquiring smokingt habit were investigated. Out of total number of interviewed schoolchildren, 44 6 percent were found to have had an experience in smoking and 16.6 percent were found to smoke regularly. Girls smoke 4.6 times less than boys, but they start regular smoking earlier than boys (1316). Number of smokers in the family is highly associated with the number of children who smoke. Among social factors influencing smoking habit it was found that the influence of friends plays an important role in acquiring smoking habits among boys, while the family custom to ask their children to light the cheroot for parents has an influence on acquiring smoking habits among girls.