A LESSON PLAN TO HELP STUDENTS STOP SMOKING
Smoking among teenagers is an area of great concern for many countries worldwide, including the UAE. This is a cultivated habit, that begins in the youth and can naturally be detrimental to one’s physical and emotional well-being.
And the statistics of smoking among school going children in the UAE is quite alarming.
One study found that from among age 13 to 15-year-old students in the UAE, one in five have tried smoking.
Another study was carried out among students aged 10–20 years old. Of this, 14.6 per cent of people self-reported to be regular smokers. Males were higher in ratio to be addicted to smoking, compared to females.
In a different study, the UAE ranked 10th of 22 Eastern and Mediterranean countries for smoking by teenage boys.
Therefore, addressing smoking at early ages is a responsibility that schools in the UAE must pay attention to, by involving students, parents and teachers in order to prevent such habits.
In order to tackle the issue of smoking in early ages or deter youths from staying away from the cigarette, identifying the core reasons why so many youths resort to lighting up in their early years becomes a key factor in offering solutions.
The most common self-reported reasons for smoking were for the experience, for stress relief, and because their peers smoked.
Therefore, addressing these areas through a proactive approach rather than a reactive one seems to be the more appropriate method to handle the issue amongst today’s youth who are extremely able, mature and aware individuals.
But instilling fear in children such as punishing them from smoking through detention or suspension is not the best way to handle the issue. That’s because it may backfire amongst those youths who thrive on breaking the rules. It will simply encourage them to find ways to defy authority and prove a point by smoking more.
Designing social and awareness campaigns with important underlying messages led by selected students and leaders which address all areas such as the psychological, physical and emotional factors that cause these groups to resort to unhealthy habits as a way of relief, is essential.
In more recent times, wellness, happiness and mindfulness are the new buzz words — so these approaches to smoke cessation in schools could prove fruitful.
Overall sensitivity has to be created and a culture developed so that smoking is not a “cool” thing to do but a serious health concern.