A Study on the Actual Conditions of Smoking in Middle and High School Students in One Region (일 지역 중·고등학생의 흡연실태)
- Kim, Hyeon-Ok
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- Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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- v.12 no.1
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- pp.149-167
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- 1999
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To investigate the actual conditions of smoking in middle and high school students in Chinan County, I used a sturctured questionnaire for 1,579 students attending twelve middle-high schools from December 1, 1998 to December 20, 1998. I collected and data correlated the using an
$SPSS-PC^+$ 1. The smoking rate of middle-high schoo1 students in Chinan County was 17.9%, relatively high. This smoking rate was different according to the gender, grade, religion, and economic situation. In mals, high school students, non-religious, students low income family students, the smoking rate was higher. The smoking rate of high school students was almost the same as the smoking rate of adults, generally higher than that of foreign teenagers. Because the smoking rat of studinets in the third grade of middle school and in the first grade of high School was six times higher, increased education should be conducted during this time in an attempt to curb the sudden increase of the smoking rate. The smoking rate of girl students was 5.0%; this has increased mor than three times from ten years ago. Consequently, counter measures should be taken against the smoking of female students as well as juvenile smoking in general. In addition, the smoking rate of middle-high school students showed interesting differences when correnated with enviornmental factors. Students with low grades, who are not satisfied with school life, who don't have both parents, who have uncaring parents who nare too strict or too arbitary, who have smoking parents, or who have experienced smoking commonly smoked. Therefore, to lower the smoking rate we should improve the school environment, improve a student's interest in school life. And parents or siblings should lead by example and quit smoking at home. Schools should educate students more effectively concerning the harmful effects of smoking and create an accurate understanding of its dancers. From the beginning, we should teach students never ever to touch cigaretts. 2. The surve discovered that most students started out of curiosity, or solicitantion from friends or elders at middle school, and had been smoking one to five cigarettes for more than a year. They obtained cigarettes at stores and most of them have friends who smoke. As a result anti-smoking education should be conducted at elementary schools prior to middle school. More than 95% of the teenagers who smoke had friends who smote and smoked out of curiosity or the recommendation of elders. Thus, we must focus on teenagers who smoke in group, rather than individually. Fuyrthermore, the strict application of the regulation of tobacco sales as well as tobacco cooperation from retailers are needed. While students did not show any mood or academic achievement difference after beginning smoking, 58.1% of the students a health situdation that was worse. Juvenile smoking is more harmful to the juvenile than adult smoking is to the adult. This should be focused on in an anti-smoking campaign. 3. Students who smoke hada more positive attitude toward smoking than students who don't smoke. Students who smoke had a tendency to have a nuetral position and are not concerned about smoking compared to non-smoking students. The survey showed that the great number of students had a nuetral position. Because this nuetrality may increase Juvenile smoking, education that provides an exact understanding of smoking should be performed to build the correct attidude toward smoking. 4. Middle school students smoke when angry, gloomy, anxious, a lone and when they have some problems to solve, on when they feel inconveniened in other wores, they smoke to reliver stress. They also smok due to addiction. Because smoking is not a praetical method to relieve stress, a program which helps to acquire positive relief stress should be provided to help reduce smoking. 5. About 65% of students who smoke want to quit smoking because of health problem, 78% of them have tried mor than once to quit but failed due to weak will power and peer pressure from friends who smoke. Juvenile smoking is group, oriented. Thus, the program that advances less smoking will be the one that focuseds on groups. 6. As for advice to students who want to quit smoking, "persuasion" was used most commonly, followed by a "presentation on how to quit smoking". Another method were severe punishment. About 70% of the students wanted the anti-smoking guide at school. 7. Most students (73.5%) had a position that more anti-smoking education at school is needed. Obriously, then, anti-smoking education at middle-high schools should be reinfoced. Although the education which explains the harmful influence of tobacco is known as an efficient way prevent smoking; it does not influence students who already smoke. Therefore, for students who smoke, multi-dimensional approaches must be attempted that include physical training, phychokogical approache, consultation and discussion, medical chek-ups, audio-visual education technigues, and professonal instructors, in addition, because smoking students have more negative on lukewarm attitude to anti-smoking education anti-smoking education should be conducted through a communicative style by dedicated teachers who care about students. In order to increase the effectiveness of this program.