Many young people start smoking because of their friends who have such behaviors as smoking and drinking alcohol. A recent study found that more than a quarter of South African teenagers have friends who are smoking and drinking.

Scientists interviewed 1 000 South African teenagers ranging in age from 13 to 19 years, from the seven major capital areas. They were asked if they had “lots of friends” who were smoking, drinking or using drugs.

The reason for asking about the behavior of their friends, but not themselves, was to extract more fair answers, said Neil Higgs, the director of innovation and development at TNS. This was especially important with teenagers under 16, whose caregivers were ordered to be present during the interview.

At the end of the investigation the researchers found that the highest concentration of smoking was in Cape Town, where 44 percent of teenagers interviewed said they had lots of friends who smoked. The rate among 13-year-olds was 15 percent.

This worries Peter Ucko, director of the National Council against Smoking, who said that exposure to smoking makes it more likely that teenagers will themselves become hooked on cigarettes.

“If they are exposed to it at home, with friends, in movies, in advertising in sport, they are more likely to smoke,” Mr. Ucko said.

The high number of smoking teens could explain drug abuse in the country too.
“Nicotine is the entry drug. Few people who don’t smoke do other drugs. Most people who take other drugs are also smokers,” he added.

The researchers also found that the highest concentration of drug use was in East London, where 17 percent of respondents had lots of friends who used drugs. Cape Town was second, at 12 percent.

Peer pressure was very powerful in concluding a teenager’s use and abuse of alcohol too, said Adel Grobbelaar, a trustee for Alcoholics Anonymous.

Grobbelaar explained that drinking was definitely increasingly among young South Africans.

Grobbelaar added that the lack of parental supervision and easy access to alcohol was the key problems. “Once they get into that scene, it’s very, very easily obtained.”

Researchers concluded that teens, who often engage in unhealthy habits on their own, rather than with peers, may be in bigger trouble.

Tags: anti-smoking movement

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 5th, 2009 at 8:36 am and is filed under Smoking prevention. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.