Harms of cigarette smoking: call to increase knowledge among children
File(s)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Although the major burden of disease caused by smoking is observed in the adult population, two-third of smokers start before the age of 18 years. Reducing the number of young smokers could lead to marked improvements to the health of the UK population and save billions of pounds in National Health Service finances. However, very little is known about what makes children decide to not smoke or to quit early. We believe that increased awareness of the health risks associated with smoking will reduce smoking uptake among children. This study identifies a significant lack of knowledge among children aged 11-17 years at two London secondary schools and potentially identifies an area for improving our antismoking programmes. Although 80% of pupils cited lung cancer as being a smoking-related disease, very few other conditions could be recalled. We must do all we can to reduce smoking uptake in children. Understanding their baseline knowledge is the first step towards addressing the deficits in our current antismoking programmes.
Date Issued
2019-01-31
Date Acceptance
2017-07-13
Citation
European Journal of Cancer Prevention, 2019, 28 (1), pp.54-57
ISSN
0959-8278
Publisher
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Start Page
54
End Page
57
Journal / Book Title
European Journal of Cancer Prevention
Volume
28
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2018 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.
Sponsor
National Institute for Health Research
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29384759
Grant Number
NIHR-RP-011-053
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Oncology
awareness
children
health risks
perception
smoking
Adolescent
Child
Cigarette Smoking
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Lung Neoplasms
Male
Smoking Cessation
Smoking Prevention
Students
Surveys and Questionnaires
Humans
Lung Neoplasms
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Smoking Cessation
Students
Adolescent
Child
Female
Male
Surveys and Questionnaires
Cigarette Smoking
Smoking Prevention
1112 Oncology and Carcinogenesis
Oncology & Carcinogenesis
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2019-01-31