Thailand: Peer Pressure on Students to Smoke

Source from:  Bangkok Post (th)  01/11/2013

Young people who have been invited to try smoking tobacco by their friends have a higher chance of taking up smoking on a regular basis, according to a study by Burapha University (BUU).

The study involved 338 male middle-school students who smoke.

Kamollapoo Thanomsat, a researcher at BUU, said the four main factors that influence young people smoke, or not, according to the study, are peer invitation, seeing people around them smoke, personal outlook on smoking, and the ability to avoid smoking.

Students whose friends invited them to smoke were 2.9 times more likely to smoke, while those who were simply not set against smoking were 2.6 times more likely to take up the habit than those who were.

Students who lack adequate knowledge of how to avoid the smoking habit were 2.3 times more likely to smoke. Those who were around people who smoke were 2.14 times more likely.

According to the National Statistics Office, 16.4% of the Thai population have smoke cigarretes on a regular basis since they were 13 to 15 years old. 62.6% of them started smoking at the age of 9 to 12 years.

Mr Kamollapoo said 59.7% of the subjects' parents smoked and 45.86% of their peers also smoked. Enditem