UM Surabaya Lecturer: This is the Danger of Smoking for School-Age Children

• 06 Jan
• 2023

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UM Surabaya Lecturer: This is the Danger of Smoking for School-Age Children

• Article
• By Uswah Sahal
• Health
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The prevalence of smokers in school-age children and adolescents is increasing every year. This can happen because adolescence is a transitional and vulnerable period, because an individual will experience many changes, both psychological and physical changes.

Vella Rohmayani Lecturer in Medical Laboratory Technology Study Program (TLM) of the Applied Bachelor Program (FIK) UM Surabaya explained that teenagers have a high curiosity and have emotional turmoil so that they can more easily take actions that deviate from social rules and norms in society, one of which is smoking behavior.

According to Vella, several studies in Indonesia state that most people start consuming cigarettes when they are in junior high school (SMA) or at approximately the age of 12. However, smoking habits among school-age children most often occur in students who are currently studying in high school.

"Smoking certainly has a bad effect on health, because cigarettes have several components that are toxic to the body, namely carbon monoxide, tar and nicotine," said Vella who is also a member of the Muhammadiyah Tobacco Control Center (MTCC).

He explained that carbon monoxide is one of the dangerous ingredients in cigarettes. Carbon monoxide has the ability to bind to hemoglobin in the blood 200 times stronger than oxygen.

"Increased levels of carbon monoxide in the blood can cause respiratory problems, headaches, and depression which in the long term can certainly lead to serious health problems," said Vella Tuesday (8/8/22)

Furthermore, the content of cigarettes that are harmful to the body is tar. This substance can settle in the lungs and can interfere with the function of the hairs that line the surface of the lungs. So that the ability of the lungs to filter harmful substances such as bacteria and germs that enter can decrease.

Not only that, nicotine is also a component of cigarettes that is harmful to the body. This substance can make a person become addicted, can damage brain tissue, cause narrowing of blood vessels, and other health problems.

Seeing the dangers of the content in cigarettes, of course smoking behavior in school-age children or adolescents will have a bad effect on their health. School-age children or adolescents who smoke will usually experience symptoms of a lack of focus on learning, difficulty understanding lessons because they experience decreased comprehension, are less active, experience anxiety disorders, which causes the child to experience depression.

"Therefore it is important for us to create a smoking-free space, as well as take steps to prevent smoking, especially among school-age children or adolescents," he said.