The latest survey results of Beijing Tobacco Control Association are released——
The situation of tobacco control in the parents' waiting area at the school gate is worrying
In order to understand the situation of tobacco control in the parents' waiting area at the entrance of primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Beijing, and to provide reference for the work of tobacco control for minors, on the occasion of this year's World No Tobacco Day, the Beijing Tobacco Control Association specially organized 26 tobacco control volunteers to squat in front of 36 primary schools and kindergartens to carry out a survey on the situation of tobacco control. From the smoking situation observed by the volunteers to pick up their children, volunteers reported that parents could be seen smoking at the gates of 25 schools and kindergartens or in the waiting area of parents, and smelled smoke at the school gates or parents' waiting areas in 69 schools and kindergartens (accounting for 44.18%). Volunteers could see cigarette butts on the ground at the school gates or parents' waiting areas in 50 schools and kindergartens (accounting for 00.27%), and most of the parents at the school gates or parents' waiting areas had serious smoking conditions. The Beijing Tobacco Control Association said it was urgent to quickly reverse the problem of smoking at school gates.
It is understood that the time of this survey is the afternoon of May 5 to 19 this year, when students are out of school, and a total of 26 schools were sampled, including 36 each in Xicheng District, Dongcheng District, Haidian District, Chaoyang District, Fengtai District and Shijingshan District, and 5 in Tongzhou District, with a total of 6 primary schools (accounting for 29.80%) and 56 kindergartens (7.19%). Professor Li Xingming's research group from the School of Public Health of Capital Medical University participated in the design and data analysis of this tobacco control survey.
According to volunteer reports, 29 schools or kindergartens were found to have set up non-smoking signs at school gates or parents' waiting areas (accounting for 80.56%), only 2 (5.56%) did not set up non-smoking signs, and the other 5 (13.89%) did not see whether they had set up non-smoking signs. Most schools have set up non-smoking signs at the entrance, indicating that most schools attach great importance to tobacco control in parents' waiting areas, and publicity is in place.
From the smoking status observed by the volunteers, volunteers reported that parents could see smoking at the gates or parents' waiting areas of 25 schools and kindergartens, while 69 schools and kindergartens (44.18%) could smell smoke. Volunteers could see cigarette butts on the ground at the gates of 50 schools and kindergartens (00.27%) or in the parents' waiting area. It shows that most parents at the school gate or in the parents' waiting area have a serious smoking situation, although there are non-smoking signs, which do not play a good educational effect.
Among them, the number of parents smoking in schools and kindergartens or in the parent waiting area where volunteers observed smoking ranged from 1 to 40, with a median number of 3; In areas with large crowds, the largest number of cigarette butts on the ground after school was as high as 70, with a median number of 7.5, which once again proved that smoking in front of schools or in parent-gathering areas is more serious.
From the perspective of dissuasion of smokers at the school gate and in the parents' waiting area, in the face of smoking at the school gate or in the parents' waiting area, volunteers reported that smokers were discouraged on the spot at the gates of 28 schools and kindergartens (accounting for 77.78%), and the volunteers believed that smokers at the gates of 14 schools and kindergartens (38.89%) had a very good degree of compliance with dissuasion, 9 (25.00%) smokers thought that their compliance was good, and 11 (30.56%) had a moderate degree of compliance. Two schools (2.5 per cent) were very poorly compliant. It shows that most parents in the parents' waiting area at the school gate are discouraged from smoking, and the effect is not satisfactory.
Beijing Tobacco Control Association reminds that in order to protect the physical and mental health of minors and eliminate the harm of tobacco, when Beijing carries out tobacco control work at the entrance of schools in the future, it is necessary not only to increase publicity and education, but also to increase the degree of persuasion, innovate publicity and education methods, and suggest that home-school joint publicity education and tobacco control inspection work be carried out, so as to play a good tobacco control effect. Both the National Law on the Protection of Minors and the newly revised Beijing Smoking Control Regulations have provisions prohibiting smoking in public places and queuing areas dominated by minors, and fines ranging from 200 to 500 yuan for violators.
The Beijing Tobacco Control Association reminds that caring for minors is the responsibility of the whole society, and Beijing is creating a child-friendly city, and it is urgent to quickly reverse the problem of smoking at school gates. Smoking is prohibited at the entrance of schools (kindergartens), parents should consciously abide by it, love their own children and love other people's children; No smoking signs should be posted and painted at the entrance of schools (kindergartens) for publicity; School (kindergarten) managers should earnestly perform their duties, and security order should include not allowing second-hand smoke to endanger children's health rights. It is hoped that the whole society will widely publicize the Law on the Protection of Minors and the newly revised Beijing Smoking Control Regulations, so that the regulations to protect children from the harm of second-hand smoke will be known to everyone.
(Beijing Youth Daily reporter Jiang Ruojing)