YOGYAKARTA - As many as 16 percent of junior and senior high school students in Yogyakarta are smokers. Of the number, 12 percent are experimental smokers and 4 percent are regular smokers. Experimental group is a group of students who several times try smoking with friends, while regular smoker is a group of students who smoke every day routinely. The survey was conducted by Quit Tobacco Indonesia, Faculty of Medicine UGM, to 2,015 junior and senior high school students in Yogyakarta.
Dra. Yayi Suryo Prabandari, M.Sc., Ph.D., as chairman of the research team said that the number of experimental and regular smokers for junior high students is as much as 10.32% and 2.38%. "The number of senior high school students increased by 13.28% for experimental smokers and 4.64 percent for regular smokers," Yayi told reporters on Thursday (26/5). On that occasion, Yayi was accompanied by Dean of Faculty of Medicine Universitas Gadjah Mada, Prof. dr. Ali Ghufron Mukti, M.Sc., Ph.D., and researcher of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Prof. Dr. Laksono.
Based on gender, male experimental smokers are 21.61 percent, while 2.76 percent are women. Yayi said that external factors that cause students to become smokers are, among others, the influence of family, friends, environment, advertisement, and the ease of getting cigarettes. Meanwhile, internal factors affecting are level of knowledge and danger of smoking, level of perception, high curiosity and trial and error.
Meanwhile, from 1,602 teachers from 30 junior and 30 senior high schools in Yogyakarta being surveyed, it was found that 10 percent of them are smokers. "From the survey, it was found 61 percent of teachers claimed not to receive training on smoking issues. In fact, 68 percent of junior and high school teachers said they had smoked in school environment in recent year," she said.
Retna Siwi Patmawati, one member of the research team, explained in 2011, she launched a smoke-free home activity in 9 neighbourhoods in Yogyakarta, including Muja-muju RW 11, Gunung Ketur RW 01, Pakuncen RW 04, Sosrowijayan RW 06, Giwangan RW 13, Pringgan RW 10, Panembahan RW 16, Bausasran RW 01, and Suryatmajan RW 02.
Siwi explained in the activity, no-smoking signs/ stickers are put on every house. Furthermore, people are not allowed to smoke in the community meeting and ashtray is not provided in every meeting. "The smoke-free home activity does not forbid people to smoke, but appeals smokers to provide fresh and healthy air for other family members," she explained.
Dean of Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Ali Ghufron Mukti, criticized the need for additional clauses in the draft of Impact of Tobacco Products Control Bill, which will need to include the addition of the value of cigarette tax earmarked for control and treatment programs from health impacts due to smoking.