Survey sheds light on shocking truth about student smokers

‘High’ number: Students in uniform smoking near a fast food outlet in this file picture. According to a Health Ministry survey, the number of youngsters picking up the habit is astonishing.

PETALING JAYA: A 10-year-old in uniform takes a drag on his cigarette and the nicotine hits. For every five boys, there is one just like him, reveals the country’s first-of-its-kind study by the Health Ministry.

The habit is easy to feed, especially when cigarettes are blatantly being sold to students with little or no enforcement against the irres­ponsible sellers.