Riyadh, Aug 10(Arab News): The number of young smokers aged 13 to 15 in the Kingdom has dropped by more than 4 percent over the past three years, the Ministry of Health has said. They decreased from 19.3 percent of total smokers to 14.9 percent.

“The findings were the outcome of a study conducted in the Kingdom recently by the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control,” said Dr. Ziad Al-Memish, deputy minister of health for preventive medicine.

According to Al-Memish, the Global Survey of the Prevalence of Smoking Among Young People in Saudi Arabia, covered around 50 secondary schools in the Kingdom, of which half were girls’ schools.

He said 1,715 students, including 927 girls, were interviewed.

The study revealed that 30 percent of young people are passive smokers in their own homes and 65 percent of teenage smokers have a desire to quit smoking.

It was reported that 14.9 percent (21.2 percent of all boys interviewed, 9.1 percent of girls interviewed) confirmed that they use any tobacco related products, 8.9 percent (13 percent of boys and 5 percent of girls) smoke cigarettes and 9.5 percent were addicted to shisha (13.3 percent boys, 6.1 percent girls).

According to the study, 25.3 percent feel that smokers among men are smarter than nonsmokers, while 17.5 percent said the same about girl smokers. Almost 64 percent knew the hazards of smoking and 42.1 percent had received lessons in schools about the dangers of the habit.

Dr. Majid Al-Muneef, supervisor general of the anti-smoking department at the Ministry of Health, thanked the Ministry of Education for the cooperation extended in reducing the numbers of teenage smokers.

"We were able to create an effective awareness program among students in secondary schools with the help of the Ministry of Education," he added. Al-Muneef said the ministry would conduct a similar study among the students over 16.