Include parents in anti-smoking plan

IT is indeed shocking to read the report, “20,000 die yearly due to smoking” (The Star, April 24). Worse still, the highest number of smokers comprise those who are 15 to 24 years old. All secondary schools grapple with the problem of trying to stop students aged 15 to 18 from smoking, but they seem to be fighting a losing battle. Many of these students, the majority of whom are boys, simply do not want to listen to reason. All the facts about the dangers of smoking are clearly laid out to students but it seems they just don’t seem to sink in. Gone are the days when students would try to steal a puff just to experience what smoking was like. Today we are dealing with nicotine addicts who need to smoke.

Most of the students who are caught smoking in schools are regular smokers. Society today expects schools and teachers to curb this problem. Unfortunately, not much can be done as most of these hardcore smokers are free to puff away once they are outside the school premises. It is common these days to see schoolboys smoking on their way home from school. Who is there to stop them?