Lungfish - Smokefree Resources for Kids

Smoking and young people

In New Zealand, around 25 percent of the adult population (aged 18 years or above) are smokers. Over the past 20 years smoking rates have reduced, however, in recent years these reductions have not been so great. It is thought that one reason for this is that people who quit smoking are being replaced by ‘new’ young smokers. Therefore reducing the number of young people becoming addicted smokers is a priority. A survey carried out in 2003, found that 14 percent of year 10 girls and 10 percent of year 10 boys smoked daily.

Tobacco smoking causes many diseases, reducing the general health of the smoker, even when they are young. For young smokers, the physical damage from smoking begins during adolescence. Around one-third of 18-year-old smokers say that their health has been damaged by smoking. Young people who smoke have an increased risk of respiratory problems and lower levels of fitness.

Within any group of students, there will be some who live in smokefree environments and are not often exposed to personal pressures to smoke. There will be others who have experimented with cigarettes and face some pressure to continue to experiment with smoking or to start smoking. There will be a small number of students who are already addicted to nicotine and are smokers.

What can teachers do to help?

Parental behaviours and school environments can reduce the chances that young people will become smokers. Research has found that young people are less likely to start smoking if they:

live in families where their parents or caregivers do not smoke and clearly disapprove of smoking
do not have easy access to cigarettes
are not exposed to environments, particularly at home, in which people smoke
are not overly exposed to smoking in movies and other media
do not consider smoking to be ‘normal’, that is, they realize that most people (75 percent of the population) don’t smoke
have anti-tobacco and anti-tobacco industry sentiments
have skills to resist peer pressure to start to smoke

As well, broader issues such as a young person’s sense of self worth, and stress and peer pressure management skills, can impact on whether or not they become a smoker. They are less likely to become a smoker if they:

feel valued and connected to their family, school and community.
This includes:
- having supportive and involved parents
- involvement in school and community events
- are in a school that has a supportive culture and clearly defined and communicated rules
feel secure in who they are and how they relate to others
can cope with and manage stress.

Health effects of smoking

Any contributions that teachers make to keeping students smokefree are extremely valuable. You will find that a number of the strategies suggested to address student smoking will help improve overall student well being and enhance their performance at school. A Smokefree Schools initiative was launched during the mid 1990’s as part of Health Promoting Schools. Smokefree Schools includes implementing a s chool-wide approach to smoking, such as developing school rules and policies about smoking, curriculum linked activities and links to wider health promotion and community based programmes.

Smokefree schools resources

Two resources that aim to help students stay smokefree are available on the Smokefree Schools website. The resources, for years 5 and 6, and 7 and 8, encourage students to access and use information about smoking to develop a positive attitude to being smokefree now and in the future.

Both resources were developed with the help of practicing teachers, and have links to the Health and PE Curriculum. The year 7 and 8 resources will be available from 31 May 2005, and the year 5 and 6 resource from 31 June 2005.

Further Smokefree schools information

For further information on Smokefree schools, and teaching and learning about tobacco control issues, see the Smokefree Schools website: www.smokefreeschools.co.nz. This website was developed by a group of government and non-government health agencies, and is run under the banner of the Health Sponsorship Council – a government-funded agency that promotes healthy lifestyles.

It contains information on current legislation that relates to having a smokefree school, compliance with this legislation, and information on tobacco control research.

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