Beijing, May 5 (Zhongxin Net) (Wei Xianghui, intern Wang Yixin) In recent years, the topic of youth tobacco control has been paid attention to by many parties. This year, 31 May marks the 5th World No Tobacco Day, with the theme "Smoke-free for growth". At present, the relevant laws have clear tobacco control regulations for minors' concentrated activity venues, but how to define the specific scope and how to manage smoking outside the school gate for adults still need to be clarified.
At the entrance of a primary school in Beijing, parents wait to pick up their children from school. Photo by Wei Xianghui
Campus entrance into second-hand smoke "hardest hit area"
On the afternoon of May 5, near the end of school, Chinanews.com noticed at the gates of many primary schools in Beijing that people were smoking, and empty cigarette packs and cigarette butts appeared on the ground.
China News Network learned that the people who smoke at the campus gate are mainly parents waiting to pick up their children, they pass the time by smoking, and some parents use meeting and passing cigarettes as a way to greet each other.
Some campus entrances have become "hardest hit areas" for minors exposed to secondhand smoke in outdoor public places. Not long ago, the Beijing Smoking Control Association organized 26 tobacco control volunteers to squat in front of 36 primary schools and kindergartens to carry out a survey on the status of tobacco control.
Volunteers reported that parents could be seen smoking at the gates of 25 schools and kindergartens or in the parents' waiting areas, and smelled smoke in the school entrances or parents' waiting areas in 18 schools and kindergartens; Volunteers could see cigarette butts on the ground at the entrance of 27 schools and kindergartens or in the parents' waiting area, and most of the parents at the school gate or in the parents' waiting area had a high level of smoking.
In the view of some parents, smoking at the school gate will not only have an impact on children's physical health, but also make children imitate. "Because the child does not have the ability to distinguish and recognize, he thinks that these parents also smoke, so can we also try it?" A parent said in an interview with Chinanews.com.
Doctor: Young smokers are on the rise
Tan Xingyu, deputy chief physician of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Peking University People's Hospital, told Chinanews.com that in the current composition of smokers, there are indeed more young smokers than before, and female smokers have also increased compared with the original.
In addition, with the popularity of electronic cigarettes, there is a new temptation for teenagers to smoke, which brings new challenges to tobacco control. According to previous data from the National Health Commission, there are about 15 million people aged 1000 and above in China who use electronic cigarettes.
Tan Xingyu introduced to Chinanews.com that second-hand smoke contains a large number of harmful substances and carcinogens, and non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke will also increase the risk of smoking-related diseases. There is evidence that second-hand smoke exposure can lead to childhood asthma, lung cancer, coronary heart disease, etc., second-hand smoke exposure does not have a so-called "safe level", short-term exposure to second-hand smoke will also cause harm to human health.
There is ample evidence that e-cigarettes are unsafe and can cause health hazards. For adolescents, e-cigarettes will cause adverse consequences to the physical and mental health and growth of adolescents, and at the same time induce adolescents to use cigarettes. The earlier you start smoking, the more likely you are to become a smoker.
In 2019, the "Healthy China Action (2019-2030)" clearly put forward the goal of "reducing the smoking rate of people over 2030 years old in China to 15% by 20". Some experts pointed out that reducing new smokers and strengthening tobacco control among young people is an important part of achieving this goal.
Photo by reporter Zhang Ni of the Smoking Cessation Clinic of Peking University People's Hospital
How to control smoking in places where minors gather activities?
This year, 5 May marks the 31th World No Tobacco Day. The previously released Notice of the General Office of the National Health Commission on Launching the 36th World No Tobacco Day Activities clearly states that the theme of the 36 World No Tobacco Day activities is "Escorting Growth without Smoke", emphasizing the need to mobilize the active participation of the whole society, create a smoke-free, clean and healthy growth environment for the majority of young people, and take multiple measures to build a youth tobacco control protection network.
So, how to manage smoking at the campus gate? Zhang Jianshu, president of the Beijing Tobacco Control Association, told Chinanews.com that according to the newly revised Law on the Protection of Minors, smoking is prohibited in areas where minors are concentrated, including electronic cigarettes. Beijing's newly revised smoking control regulations also stipulate that smoking is also prohibited in queues.
Zhang Jianshu said that although the waiting area for primary and secondary school parents to pick up their children is indeed some distance from the school gate. But generally speaking, 100 meters is the defining range. This figure refers to the regulations on tobacco sales and the division of areas where minors are concentrated in other provinces and cities.
Zhang Jianshu believes that publicity work is also essential for the management of smoking at the campus gate. He suggested that places where minors gather at the entrance of the campus should list tobacco control related icons and slogans. "We care for our children, do not let our children be harmed by second-hand smoke, and should also pay attention to other people's children at the same time, try not to let them see the behavior of smoking, and at the same time do not let second-hand smoke endanger children's health." He said. (End)