ABU DHABI // Tired of seeing close to 100 cigarettes butts a day littering the toilets at his school, Gaurav Basavarth decided to take action.
The 16-year-old, who attends Abu Dhabi Indian School, launched the Are You The One Among Five? campaign, which kicked off in Khalidya Mall with about 20 volunteers talking about the dangers of smoking among teenagers.
“I saw around one in five of the teenagers I knew smoked and looking it up online I found the same number,” Gaurav said.
The 12th grader said school officials tried to address the problem with routine inspections and checks but the warnings had fallen on deaf ears.
“Kids don’t smoke to fit in, they smoke because they want to stand out and look cool,” Gaurav said. The campaign, which saw one volunteer wear a black shirt for every four in white, along with a board filled with no-smoking signs where people were encouraged to take selfies to post on a website, caught the eye of Hashem bin Younes. When asked if he smoked, Hashem smiled to expose his nicotine-stained teeth and flashed his cigarette pack in his jeans pocket.
“I really want to quit but its got a hold of me,” said the Jordanian, who started smoking when he was 13, in Amman. “Everyone of my friends smoked back home but here I see it isn’t as common,” said Hashem, although he added all his close friends and roommates in the UAE smoke.
“When we go out it has to include shisha and cigarettes. Coffee and tea just wouldn’t be the same without it,” said the 19-year-old, who works as a waiter.
Tala, a former pupil at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, said she also started smoking as a young teen.
“I started in secret at 14 with cigarettes because my parents smoked, but as I got older I smoked socially and moved on to shisha,” said the 21-year-old, who now smokes medwakh and has no plans to quit.
As she grew older, Tala found more of her friends smoked, with around 40 per cent at the age of 15 and 60 per cent at the age of 17 smoking.
“We see that smoking amongst teenagers is increasing,” said Dr Bassam Mahboub, head of Emirates Respiratory and Allergy Society.
Although exact figures are not available, Dr Mahboub said he estimated nearly 50 per cent of adolescents have either tried or are regular smokers.
He said a more concerted effort was needed to address the issue.
“If I was to start an anti-smoking campaign today I would begin in the schools. If you want to have the most effect you would prevent teenagers from starting,” Dr Mahboub said.
George Itty, co-founder Nahtam Social Responsibility, the company that helped Gaurav launch his campaign, said he hoped more people would join in.
“This is just the start, we have to continue pressing the messages,” said Mr Itty, who quit five years ago after three decades as a smoker. He started at the age of 14.
A 2013 World Health Organisation study found that 21.3 per cent of boys and 9 per cent of girls aged 13 to 15 in the UAE used tobacco.
The UAE ranked 10th of 22 Eastern Mediterranean countries for smoking by teenage boys. Lebanon was top with 41.9 per cent, followed by Qatar on 41.8 per cent and Jordan on 34.1 per cent.
tsubaihi@thenational.ae