Starting and maintaining smoking: a qualitative study of tobacco use in high school students
2020
Zobena, A., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia) | Skrastina, A., University of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)
Despite the detrimental impact of smoking to health, its prevalence remains high. Most students who smoke start to do so regularly around the age of 16−18. Although the proportion of smokers in Latvia is decreasing, the share of electronic cigarette users among young people is growing prematurely, which indicates a change of habits among young people. The aim of the study is to investigate the motives for starting smoking, the factors that contribute to smoking initiation and how high school students become “regular smokers” from “trying” tobacco products. In February 2019, two focus group discussions were organized to obtain information on young people's smoking experience. In each of them, high school students (aged over 18) and students took part. The participants of the focus group discussion were chosen by the “snowball” method. Social factors and the social and psychological characteristics of adolescents have a major impact on the transition from the first cigarette smoked by peers to regular smoking. According to the study, so-called social smoking is prevalent among young people, where smoking is one of the elements of starting and maintaining a relationship, and the smoker himself feels that he is not addicted to smoking and does not think it is necessary to quit.
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