Most of the parents prefer to avoid the discussions about smoking and cigarettes. They do not know how to make their children not to try to smoke and even resort to violence in order to make them be afraid of cigarettes and what is related to them. Such conclusions are contained in the qualitative study “Publicity and promotion of cigarettes at retail outlets” that was carried out among children from primary education institutions. The study results were presented in a news conference at IPN.
According to the interviewed parents, smoking in public places affects the children directly and indirectly. On the one hand, the children inhale cigarette smoke when they are in public places. On the other hand, these practices and behaviors arouse the curiosity of kids, who are inclined to imitate the grownups.
The parents are concerned about the way the cigarettes are sold, including about the fact that the kiosks selling these are many in number and the legislation in the field is not respected, but also about the free access to cheap cigarettes. Some parents said there are cigarettes that cost 10 lei a pack and the children usually have this money. Thus, the cigarettes become more accessible to children.
Some of the parents are convinced that their children do not express interest in smoking because they discussed in the family the damage caused by smoking to health. Other parents consider the children were informed at school, read information or watched features/films with anti-smoking messages. Some of the parents admitted that they do not know how to react when the children try to smoke. The previous experience, with elderly children, shows that their intervention is not always appropriate.
The parents surveyed within the study were shown two Russian films were children of an age similar to the age of their children state their opinions about the packs of cigarettes. These were surprised by the way in which the children react to the cigarettes and the details they see, the way in which these are attracted by cigarettes, by the color of packs and the drawings from them, and by the associations the children have.
Ghenadie Turcanu, project coordinator at the Center for Health Policies and Studies (PAS Center), said the parents should not use violence to prevent their children from smoking, but many of them do not know how to discourage their children from trying to smoke. The authorities should intervene and eliminate any element related to cigarettes that could make the children try to smoke.
