The Influence of School Type on the Initial Smoking Age among Adolescence: A Survey in Pontianak City, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract

Smoking habit usually started at adolescence. The decision to start smoking is heavily influenced by one’s surroundings, both school and family. Adolescents in general are in their school phase, so that most of their times are spent at school. Hence, school environment greatly influences one’s personality, including one’s decision to smoke. It has been decided that school is a non-smoking zone. Each school, either public or private, has put some surveillances on their students, particularly in terms of smoking. Each school conducts its own surveillance method. This difference shall shape different peer circumstance for each adolescent. This research aims to discover whether certain school type (from primary to high school) influences adolescent’s initial smoking age, without ignoring the smoking habit in one’s family (parental-habit transformation). This research employs a survey method. The survey is conducted randomly to 500 respondents from 18 years old to 23 years old. It is also found out that family’s smoking habit and mother’s educational background significantly influence the adolescent’s initial smoking age.