Major effort urged to stop child smokers

An all-out campaign to prevent children getting the deadly smoking habit is called for today.

It is made by the August ‘Which?’ published by the Consumers’ Association, as one of the conclusions of a major report into the dangers of smoking and the various ways in which people may be persuaded to give it up.

‘Which?’ points out that there are at least seven times as many premature deaths caused by smoking as by road accidents in this country, and that more than one in ten of all cigarette smokers will contract lung cancer, bronchitis or coronary heart disease.

“The evidence is now inescapable,” says the report. “Smoking is a serious danger to health.”

“Children, in particular, must be persuaded by all possible means not to start smoking, and smokers who are worried about their smoking should make every effort to give up, and should receive all the help and encouragement they need.”

‘Which?’ calls for stronger measures to discourage smoking, including putting up the price of cigarettes. It says that in real terms, cigarettes in Britain have been getting cheaper – they are now about 20 per cent less than in the 1960s.

It says that taxation should also be used to penalize middle tar as well as high tar cigarettes and that there should be stricter control over tobacco advertisements, including the banning of cash tokens.

It also wants further restrictions on smoking in public places, including hospitals, cinemas and on public transport where smoking areas are not completely separate.

The report points out that not only smokers are in danger from inhaling tobacco fumes. Recent research suggests that non-smokers who have been living or working among smokers for over 20 years have poorer lung performance than non-smokers who are not usually exposed to cigarette smoke.

‘Which?’ says that, for children, the message about smoking dangers may be got over most effectively as part of the normal school curriculum, in biology, say, rather than in special campaigns.

The magazine examined the various aids to giving up smoking, including smoking withdrawal clinics, anti-smoking products and acupuncture. It concludes that “nothing replaces the need for will-power and determination.”

By Peter Avis

1. What are the dangers of smoking?

2. What measures can be taken to discourage smoking?

3. How can people be persuaded to give it up?

4. How can children be prevented from getting the smoking habit?

5. Are second-hand smokers in danger?

LET’S TALK

Trudy’s children, aged seven and nine, were caught smoking. Her husband wants to make them smoke a packet at once, but Trudy doesn’t think it will teach them the dangers of smoking.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16