W Cape pupils 'heavy smokers'

2003-10-21 18:19

Cape Town - While fewer pupils tried smoking in 2002 on a national basis among grades 8 to 10, the figure for the Western Cape shot up to more than 60% - higher than all the other provinces.

This is according to a Medical Research Council Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS).

Twenty-three schools from the metropolitan areas, Worcester, George, Knysna, Oudtshoorn and the Cape West Coast, with 1 197 pupils participated in the study while nationally 207 participated in the study with an 80% participation rate.

Dehran Swart, a specialist scientist at the MRC, said that fewer pupils tried smoking in 2002 on a national basis but that the figure of the Western Cape shot up to more than 60%, which was higher than all the other provinces.

"Those smoking before the age of 10 nationally were at 14.7% and in the Western Cape the figure was 16.7%," Swart said.

He said underage sales were high and that the Western Cape had the highest prevalence of current smokers who bought their cigarettes in a store.

Swart said greater enforcement was needed to prevent pupils from smoking at schools in the Western Cape as the use of tobacco in the school curriculum was low.

Head of the health promotion research and development group at the MRC, Professor Priscilla Reddy said that the GYTS aimed to document and monitor the prevalence of tobacco use, such as smoking cigarettes, cigars, and pipes.

In addition, the survey assessed pupils' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes related to tobacco-using behaviour, as well as smoking cessation, environmental tobacco smoke, minor's access to tobacco, school curriculum and media advertising.

- SAPA