The first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science, the former chief sanitary doctor of the Russian Federation, Gennady Onishchenko, spoke about how to wean Russian schoolchildren from smoking.
He noted that some adolescents begin to smoke regularly already at the age of 14-15. The reason for the addiction, according to Onishchenko, lies in the problems of education. So, if a father or mother smokes in the family, then this fosters a child’s tolerance for smoking, even if the parents tell them about the dangers of this habit. In addition, in such families, children begin to imitate their parents.
The state can influence the upbringing within families only indirectly, but there is a universal mechanism to reduce the interest of schoolchildren in cigarettes. Thus, according to Onishchenko, it is necessary to reduce the availability of tobacco.
“Unfortunately, our tobacco products are one of the cheapest. We need to raise the price of tobacco products. It is also necessary to limit the production of tobacco in the Russian Federation. In our country, about 200 billion pieces of cigarettes are produced per year, while tobacco is not grown in our country, ”he told Sputnik radio on Friday, September 4.
At the same time, he turned down a proposal to fight teen smoking with parental fines. Onishchenko noted that smoking is a form of drug addiction, and a smoker is a sick person. Such people need to be helped, not earned on them.
“He has an addiction. Smokers among schoolchildren should be treated. If fined, it will replenish the budget, but there will be no efficiency, ”Onishchenko said.
In July, the World Health Organization launched a new initiative that aims to help 1.3 billion people around the world quit smoking and thereby reduce their risk of contracting the coronavirus.
