Alarming rise in teenage smoking

Many teenagers today see smoking as a fashionable trend, which is why one can often find youngsters smoking in public places. According to several studies, two-thirds of smokers in Bangladesh pick up the habit before their 17th birthday. We all know that smoking tobacco can cause serious health issues including mouth cancer, heart disease, and respiratory problems. But the youngsters do not care about the health consequences and get hooked to tobacco, as they find it easily available and believe they will look more attractive and have more friends through smoking. Social media has been playing an important role in normalising smoking cigarettes. Often teenagers take up the habits of their favourite celebrities or television characters without realising their negative consequences.

Everybody knows that smoking kills and it is the enemy of the human body. Nonetheless, there are people who are aware of this and still smoke frequently, even from young age. The World Health Organisation has been repeatedly warning against the dangers and diseases associated with smoking cigarettes. Anti-smoking awareness campaigns are also on in many parts of the world including Bangladesh. The government has taken some steps to restrict the use of tobacco. Pro-tobacco advertisements are banned and cigarette packets have health warnings printed on them to discourage people from smoking. Yet, Bangladesh is the ninth largest consumer of tobacco products in the world. And around 35.3 per cent of our adults use tobacco, according to a new research. What is more alarming is that most of these adults have grown the habit of smoking during their teenage years. We all should intensify our efforts to raise awareness about the health risks of tobacco consumption, especially among our adolescents.

Abu Elias Linkon,

Banasree, Dhaka,

[email protected]