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THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF SMOKING AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            Smoking can be referred to as the inhaling or taking of smoke resulting from tobacco. Tobacco is a naturally occurring plant found mostly in the tropics and presently grown in most utilized part of the world as an agricultural product. Tobacco leaves is the most utilized part of the plant and it could be used naturally (fresh) or processed (dry) systematically into other form of products as it is being seen today e.g. cigarette, snuff pipes etc.

            According to the Oxford concise medical dictionary, tobacco is the dried leaves of the plant niceties bacum or related species used in smoking and as snuff. The origin of inhaling smoke can be traced back of about 3000 B. C to the burning of these dried leaves and incense in magical ceremonial and religious practices among the Egyptians and the Maya India in South Africa until the spread of tobacco smoking in the fifteenth century after Spanish explorer had been introduced to it by the Mexican and Caribbean India taking in of smoke and fumes and remained primarily only a priestly and occasionally a medical function. After the introduction of smoking of Europe, Asia and Africa the use of tobacco among ordinary people started from an alarming novelty to a common people habit.

            Tobacco smoke contain poisonous substance such as nicotine, alkaline, carbon monoxide, aerolein, ammonia prussic acid and a number of aldehydes and tars in all tobacco contain some 4, 000 chemicals. Cigarette smoking is also found to be an important cause of cancer of the esophagus, nasopharynx, mouth, larynx, kidney and bladder as well as cause of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema and heart diseases, stroke and other cardio vascular risk associated with oral conceptive use and exposure occupational hazards.

            There have been numerous campaign against cigarette smoking communicating that this voice causes death, but a threat to health doesn’t seem to be a good reason for quitting anything people somehow block themselves and ignore all the information that is given to them. Cigarette smoking penneates everything around it. Smokers usually have smelling hair, breath clothes and if they smoke indoors a smell room, the strench of cigarette smoke is very penetrating and hard to remove even if the person quits smoking the odor remains for a long time.

            Cigarette smoking also stains the teeth yellow or some times even brown, since this effect in long term most people are not aware of it when they begins smoking the truth is that a cigarette stain is very hard to eliminate from the teeth and it will probably end up costing a considerable amount of money. Yellow teeth are disgusting because they give an unhygienic image and make people look older. Smoking reduced the rate of lung growth, smoking limits young people physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance even among young people trained in competitive running.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

This study is aimed at investigating the causes and effect of smoking among secondary school students in some selected schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. However, the research will investigate this in the following capacity.

1.      To find out if the students in the selected secondary schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area understand the meaning of smoking.

2.      To find out whether some unpleasant actions have resulted from smoking among the students.

3.      To also find out the various ways adopted by families and teacher in controlling smoking among the students.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

            The important questions in this research would be:

1.      Does tobacco smoking affect the students?

2.      Does the secondary school students in Ovia North East Local Government smoke tobacco?

3.      Are there any risk associated with tobacco smoking?

4.      Do female students smoke tobacco?

5.      Do parents, teachers and guidance aware that students smoke?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main purpose of this study is to investigate and highlight the causes as its research finding may be applicable to other part of Nigeria. Therefore, the purpose of the study is the supplement of the existing finding on the topic.

1.      To investigate the causes of smoking among secondary school students of Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

2.      To investigate the effect of smoking on the students in the secondary schools investigated and;

3.      To commend and suggest possible ways of curbing tobacco smoking among the affected students and other intending to go into the act.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

            The significance of this study, the causes and effects of tobacco smoking among students in Ovia North East Local Government of Edo State cannot be overemphasized. The study is of much significance not only to Nigeria in general.

1.      It will serve as a reading test to knowledge about the causes, effect and control of tobacco smoking.

2.      It will serve as an expository literature on the risks of smoking not to secondary students but also to all and sundry.

3.      It will serve as a veritable tool for seminars, public lecturers as well as a medium for awareness campaign on the causes, effect and control of smoking.

Above all, this piece of work will offer very useful suggestions on the implication of smoking and of family and teachers play to prevent tobacco smoking as well as encouraging the people of Ovia North East locally on the need to establish tobacco rehabilitation centre with the help of the ministry of health` drug inspection unit.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will be limited to some selected recognized government and private secondary schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

DEFINITION OF TERMS                  

Nicotine: a poisonous substance in tobacco that people become addicted to.

Smoke: the gray to life or black gas that is produced by something burning, cigarette.

Smoker: a person who smokes tobacco regularly.

Snuff: it is a form, of a powder that people take by breathing it into their nose.

Tobacco: the dried leaves of the tobacco plant that are used  for making cigarette.

Cigarette: it is a thin tube of paper filled with tobacco for smoking.

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