Young people in Romania are, more and more often, followers of smoking, the statistics show. Thus, the registered figures are worrying, and medical professionals are looking for explanations for the phenomenon that is gaining momentum.
Smokers SOURCE The Truth Archive
Even though they are aware that it is an unhealthy habit, young people for some reason choose to become smokers and often even try the new smoking gadgets.
Romanian youth, smoking champions
Statistics tell us that young people are the champions of smoking nationally. The figures show that the adult smoking population exceeds 30.7% and that teenagers start smoking from the age of 15. At the same time, the incidence of smoking is higher among people between the ages of 15 and 24, and the growth percentage of young smokers in Romania is 48.3%.
Under these conditions, Dr. Ovidiu Alexinschi, psychiatrist primary doctor, talks about a worrying phenomenon, felt especially among the young population.
“We are facing a worrying phenomenon. In other European Union countries, smoking has fallen massively in recent years. In the segment of the young population, among teenagers, the incidence of smoking is increasing in Romania. Legislation allows this and there is no public health program to show what the short and long term effects are“, states Dr. Ovidiu Alexinschi, primary psychiatrist at the Socola Institute of Psychiatry.
Devices that encourage smoking among young people
According to doctors, the new smoking gadgets are a danger to young people, who are attracted by the appearance but also by the seductive aromas.
“Many electronic devices have appeared on the market in Romania, with various flavors, which are interesting for young people. However, it has not been proven that they are less harmful than classic smoking, the long-term effects are not exactly known. In Romania, there are seductive cigarette packages, with flavors and promotions that, in a certain context, manage to attract young people who have not yet formed a framework of values. It is a widespread and fashionable phenomenon. In civilized countries, packages are dark, sold only in certain locations“, adds the doctor from Iași.
