Tobacco control must start young as smoking and second-hand smoke cause much harms.

 

First Health Center of Magong City in Penhu County, Taiwan, has launched a series of tobacco harm awareness campaigns in the city’s elementary schools and junior high schools since February this year. During breaks or meeting occasions, the campaigns informed students about the harmful effects of smoking and showed them to say no to smoking with full support from the schools to help foster a smoke-free learning environment.

 

The Health Center said, smoking can cause harms such as emphysema, hair loss, osteoporosis, miscarriage and reduction in sperm count, and cancer or cardiovascular diseases. Many teenagers become addicted out of curiosity, while some take up the habit under stress or boredom. As a result, their personal image will be compromised and their health damaged, and even families and friends will suffer from second-hand smoke.

 

        The First Health Center of Magong City suggested that tobacco control must start young. In addition to smoke-free campaigns in elementary schools and junior high schools, the city authorities expect people to spread the knowledge from campuses to communities. The goal of the Health Center is to involve everyone to experience a world in which “life without smoking is free and wholesome.”