Tuesday, 20th October 2009 - 15:37CET
Smoking rising among teenagers
Updated:
The number of adult smokers is dropping but more teenagers are picking up the habit, according to surveys.
The rate of 15-year-old smokers increased by four per cent between 2002 and 2006 to reach 42.8 percent according to the EU health school survey.
The number of adult smokers declined from 23.3 percent in 2002 to 20.3 percent in 2008.
Speaking during the local launching of the EU's Help Campaign - For a Life Without Tobacco, Health Promotion Director Charmaine Gauci said that 103 men and 23 women died in 2007 as a result of lung cancer.
She said that through their habit, smokers also aggravated certain medical conditions such bronchitis, emphysema, heart attack and cardiac disease.
Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar said the time had come to prepare for the introduction of graphic pictures on tobacco packets to further underscore the health dangers of smoking.today.
Dr Cassar listed anti-smoking campaigns taken by Malta over the years, particularly the success of the ban on smoking in public spaces. He said that a smoke-free environment was a basic right, particularly since passive smoking was also detrimental to people's health.
Dr Cassar said that education campaigns by the health department had been fundamental to discourage people from smoking, and it was now time to prepare to print graphic colour pictures of the consequences of smoking on tobacco packets as part of a wider information campaign.
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Comments
Non smokers can also open the windows for fresh air if they wanted to... I dont know what your problem is saying that non smokers get more ill than smokers do. This is crap !
The one thing that you smokers cant stand is NOT GETTING YOUR WAY !....
You have had your share of spoiling our fun when we go out to clubs, bars, restaurants etc... Now its our turn to spoil our fun and enjoy life the way it should be... FREE FROM DRUGS.
Once I was in a club, and at one point 3 policemen came in. I saw them passing by people who were smoking and the police DID NOTHING !!!
How more wrong you can be..
Just look at all the people dying of heart disease, lung disease, lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and other associated smoking illnesses... and look at the amount of people dying of your so called lethal flu bug... see the difference.
and then why do people who smoke, are more prone to chest infections??? is that just lies?? possibly... but it is seen everyday in our hospitals...
Are you serious??!!
Some years ago I spent some time in administration. There were some 50 staff, half of which were none smokers. They were split into two offices. Then one of the none smokers caught the flu and within three weeks, the none smokers were all suffering from the same illness and were off sick. Only three of the smokers caught the flu and went sick, the remainder carried on working fine with the windows open.
The none smokers room always smelt stuffy where as the smokers room was slightly tainted with smoke but the air was being constantly replenished by fresh air.
Being crowded together in an enclosed space without open windows (which none smokers tend to do) is an excellent way of passing on coughs, colds and flu.
Remember, you can do almost anything with statistics and yes, smoking is a filthy habit but there are worse things in life and the current flu bug could well be one of them.
I gladly welcome smokers "to sit in closed up premises and get passively ill on each others germs as no one now bothers to open the windows for fresh air." The smokers are the once who should be closed up as you are endangering other people's health and not the other way round.
"passively ill on each others germs'"?? Give me a break. Did you really believe Ronald Reagan when he said smoking prevents germs in the 1950's advert?.
It is much more likely that the germs are carried by the smoker as smoking destroys a lot of vitamin C
But here in Malta its still tolerated for some reason. Do you remember the bar owners crying on xarabank how they will close down ? well the didn't close down not one of them.
i was just abroad with 4 smokers, what a way to live all the time calculating when they can have the next cigarette. one of them had a major tantrum cause we had no time to stop the car. she had to do 3 hours without a smoke. poor woman. if only you know how much you stink and how silly it looks to put smoke in your mouth. and yes you can stop if you want i'm an ex smoker myself.
The oversensitive none-smokers are welcome to sit in closed up premises and get passively ill on each others germs as no one now bothers to open the windows for fresh air.
if my mother were to comment about me going to pv she'd still call me her child, children if she were to take into consideration my younger sibling, and we're both over 20. your mom would also call you her child cos you still are no matter you age
and yes i have seen police booking people for smoking in night clubs and yet people go on smoking and bar owners don't stop them - both club goers and owners get fined usually. and at lm100 (or so it was when a friend of mine was booked) im surprised people still go ahead and light up wherever they may be!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taspo
First of all I don't think it is my duty to enforce the law..i simply respect it
Secondly YES i did...it is not the first time that a friend of mine lit up a cigarette in the club and I threw it out of his hands and YES once i did report it to the police that would b placed round paceville..they told me "Halli f'idejna"...and yest they didn't turn up!
It m akes one ponder whether or not there is a tacit agreement between the authoritie and certain associations not to stop smoking in Bars as this may harm the industry.
Contrary to this the greatest majority of Restaurants and other Eating places adher to the smoking laws, and this confirms my conviction that there must be some BODY protecting the Bars/Clubs,
Michael Seychell
The law is there, but once again, its enforcement is pervasively lacking!!!
go to any bar in malta or gozo and you won't find one smoke free. only restaurants and cinemas are still smoke free.
Just try to get in touch with the smoking cessation service, try the phone, e-mail or an e-link........you might just win a prize
hahaha you must be joking! go to a club at paceville and you'll know the success of the ban! you'll see people smoking one after the other and nothing is done! Im a non-smoker and would still manage to stink of cigarettes everytime I go to paceville!