Republic I

Pangasinan State University

Urdaneta Campus

Factors linked to Youth Involvement in Cigarette Smoking and

Alcoholism with the Goal of Prescribing Strategies on How to

Overcome such Societal Ailments in Barangay Poblacion,

Urdaneta City

Aradanas, Victorianne
Castro, Aprille Joyce
De Vera, Clarizzanelle
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Youth, according to the "Youth in Nation- Building Act" (RA 8044), is the vital

period in a person's development towards adulthood. The young people of today is the

hope of the future. What future holds for a nation depends on how its citizens conduct

their activities. Good health is essential in preparing the fated young generation in the

Philippines. It becomes increasingly alarming that what was imagined to be the role

models and leaders of the future will have a short life expectancy due to smoking habits

and abusive alcohol drinking. Such vices are the most preventable causes of morbidity

and mortality (National Environmental Health Association, 2008).

According to Philippine National Statistics, (2010 Census-based Population

Projections in collaboration with the Inter-Agency Working Group on Population

Projections) as of 2018, the Philippines have estimated 105,000,000 population. The

youth encompasses more than 40 percent of the total population projecting 42,000,000.

Of this, 21% are high school learners, undergraduates, and technical/vocational scholars,

22% are young laborers, 20% are contractual young workers in the urban areas, 33% are

jobless and dropouts and 4% are working students.

The smoking incidence among Filipino youth had jumped from 15% in 2003 to

21.6 percent in 2007 according to Global Youth Tobacco Survey. A 4th round GYT

survey was conducted in 2011, wherein 29% of Filipino Youth ages 15 years age and
older are said to be regularly smoking (use tobacco products, smoke cigarettes, and chew

tobacco) arousing around 12,180,000 population. The Philippines has one of the utmost

figures of young smokers in Asia.

On the other hand, 60% of Filipino young people with 25,200,000 population are

said to be drinking alcohols from being a moderate to heavy drinkers – 79% of the males

(19,908,000) and 21% for the females (5,292,000) reported from a study of Alcohol

Drinking Patterns among Filipinos (Labajo, M. 2006).

With such an overwhelming population of youth involving on smoking and

alcoholism, this is an indication that such social activities are prevalent in the society.

Though many studies were made concerning on youth smoking and alcoholism, the

reasons behind on these activities are still indistinct (Becklate, 2005).

The researchers will conduct the study "Factors linked to Youth Involvement in

Cigarette Smoking and Alcoholism with the Goal of Prescribing Strategies on How to

Overcome such Societal Ailments" to determine the factors causing these social activities

and to what extent this can influence that are considered major problems in the country

focusing on the youth. Moreover, the study is to be conducted to help lessen the

overgrowing rate by giving recommendations and approaches using the information

given in this research with the support of past related studies.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The general objective of this study is to know the factors causing youth

involvement in major social vices with the goal of prescribing strategies on how to

overcome such societal ailments. Specifically, it sought to answer the following

questions:

 What are the factors causing the youth to be involved in cigarette smoking and

alcoholism?

 How highly is the extent of influence of each factors causing the youth to be

involved in smoking and alcoholism?

 What are the possible strategies to help the youth to overcome these factors?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

There are many youths who practice vices. This study aims to know the number

of youths who engage in bad habits specifically smoking and alcoholism so that the

researchers could find possible recommendations and solutions.

If one started vices at an early age, he might as well bring it with him until he

grows old, and he might as well die at a young age because of it. So this study will help

in saving the lives of youths specifically the youths of Urdaneta City, and they could

become responsible adults in their community. If the rate of youths who engage in binge

drinking stops, accidents might as well decrease.

 Engaging in vices is not a good habit for the health. Youths who are practicing

those have their own reasons. These factors will be analyzed and unraveled by the

researchers and they will find possible ways to solve such societal ailment.

The researchers will gather all the data needed for this research from (random)

youths (who have vices) in Urdaneta City. This study is about the possible factors that

cause youths in Urdaneta City to enwrap themselves to vices.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

The study will focus on determining the factors and their impact causing youth

involvement specifically in smoking and alcoholism and to recommend goals to prescribe

strategies on how to overcome such societal ailments. The sample of the research will be

exclusively in the youth population of Barangay Poblacion of Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.

The researchers will use a cluster random sampling given two distinct population of

youth – smokers and alcoholics and will pick 75% respondents who will voluntarily

participate each in the said activities.

The researchers will use a factor analysis in studying the gathered data with the

help of the research advisers of Pangasinan State University – Urdaneta Campus. The

strategies that the researchers will prescribe to overcome such societal ailments will also

be based on the response of the respondents and recommended studies.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES AND LITERATURE

The societal implication of youth involvement to vices is that it brings to break

down and ruin of a once-emulative society. Peer attraction, psychological factor as well

as the awareness of the effects of these activities would well contribute to the number of

such youths whose vices are against the norms and views of a well-behaved and ordered

society. The social implication is that there is a disorganized way of life, which gets over-

hand and it leads to the devastation in habits and deeds of these youths. Economically

speaking, at the short-run, the implications are quite negligent, but in the long-run, they

are very damaging to the economy of the state because we’ve bred men-to-be of poor

psycho-mentality. (Jerry, 2009)

Smoking

According to World Health Organization and Food & Drug Administration

(2013), approximately 5.4 million people die each year due to tobacco smoking-related

illnesses like cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas,

bladder or as minor as chronic bronchitis. From the current 5.4 million, the number

continues to increase most likely to reach more than eight million by the year 2019.

Although there are a lot of warnings and campaigns about the possible effects of

smoking, it is disappointing that the age level of smoking adolescents has gone down to

as early as 11 or 12 years old. Teenagers who are involved think that smoking has no ill

effects on their bodies until they reach the mid-30s. Research shows that symptoms of

addiction such as having strong urges to smoke, feeling anxious or irritable or having
unsuccessfully tried not to smoke can appear among youths within weeks or only days

after occasional smoking first begins. (Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 2009).

During 2012, the Manila Bulletin of Philippines published that one out of ten

Filipinos dies every hour caused by smoking-related diseases. According to Tobacco

Atlas, the Philippines experienced 71,850 tobacco-induced deaths in 2010, which

comprised 19.6% of deaths of me and 9.4% of deaths of women. This is why the

Philippine Global Adult Tobacco Survey and Philippine Global Youth Tobacco Survey

have been intensely monitoring Filipino smokers.

In the recent survey of GYTS (2015), 16% of 8,789 participants with ages 13-15

years old confessed that they are smoking cigarettes. This was 3 percent higher than the

2011 GYTS in which only 8.9 percent are reported to be smokers. On the other hand,

Filipinos with 16 years old and above went down from 29.7 percent in 2009 to 23.8

percent. The Philippines has the fifth highest male youth smoking incidence rate in the

ASEAN region and tied at second place with Malaysia for youth smoking incidence for

females next to Brunei.

The past survey of GYTS in the year 2009 served as the strong basis for the

Philippines’ Department of Health to fight for the approval of Sin Tax Bill which was

accepted in December 2010. Because of the Sin Tax, health advocates anticipated that

smokers especially youths may be discouraged from patronizing cigarettes (Chiu, 2013).

But even after the law had been implemented, children aged 10 and adults buy and smoke

cigarettes more often than before. This is because cigarette manufacturers produced low-

priced tobaccos and are available in the market and even open to young adolescents

(Chiu, 2013).
 The National Nutrition and Health Examination Survey (NNHES) Group

observed that tobacco use typically starts among the wealthy; however it expands to the

low to middle-income populations of both sexes. Smoking is not only a public health

concern among developed economies but in developing countries as well where adult

tobacco use is on the rise among teenagers, women and young adults. (Punzalan F. et. Al,

2013)

Women and men have different psychological patterns that influence their

behavior. The same is evident in their motivation to smoke cigarettes, men are found to

smoke when they are experiencing positive emotions while women smoke to contradict

any negative feelings they harbor. Men are also more prone to smoke in public places

with their peers, whereas women smoke in hidden places (Innes, 2016).

Women are known to smoke to control weight and to relieve stress, which may

come from different pressing factors such as the given related causes: strained family

relationships, peer pressure, poor religious background, etc. In the late 20th century,

tobacco advertisements directed women market milder cigarettes. Through this manner of

advertising coupled with stressors in the modern world, women were compelled to smoke

(Innes, 2016).

Men too, start smoking with similar reasons in lesser frequencies. However, men

tend to be more dependent on nicotine compare to women, which is most likely the

primary influencing factor on cigarette addiction for men. In addition, men use cigarettes

as a social tool (Innes, 2016). Todd, et. Al (1996) have concluded that role socialization

and smoking have a complex relationship where there are cases that socialization is used

as means to get rid of stress.

 A recent cross-sectional study about the influences on cigarette smoking among

teenagers in Baguio City concluded that there were several factors that could sway

teenagers to the smoking behavior. The proximity of vendors to the users was a very

obvious result as to the extent of its influence and cigarette smoking in response to stress

was another factor identified. The extent of influence varies with teenagers when they

were grouped according to gender and age group. Females were more magnetized to the

vice than the males. Younger groups are more influenced by parents and peer compared

with the older age group. Despite the awareness of the effects of cigarette smoking,

adolescents still submit to the behavior of tobacco use. Awareness alone does not,

therefore, motivate the tobacco users to change or modify the behavior. (Cheruiyot, et.

Al, 2013).

Alcoholism

Alcohol is the most popular drug among young people. In the United States, over

10% in the eighth grade (13-14 years old) are excessively drinking alcohol and rise up to

30% when in 12th grade. Thus, 1 million students in the United States who drink alcohol

and this is because of on-going developmental changes, thrill-seeking and social

pressures, media representations, physiology, heredity and environment (Mogul, 2013).

According to Drug and Alcohol Rehab Asia (2010), Philippines has the second

highest consumers of alcohol in South East Asia next to Indonesia. It is projected that 5

million Filipinos drink on a fairly regular basis and 40% of the population drink on an

irregular basis. Although the population is big, only a small number of people tend to

seek medical help for alcohol problems because it is like due to the fact that this activity
isn’t being viewed as a serious matter even when their health has deteriorated as a result

of abusive drinking.

According to a study by Poikolainen K. et Al (2001), it is concluded that there is a

connection between the age of initiation of alcohol use and the pattern of its use resulting

to the abuse in adulthood stressing that intrusion during the stage of development is

crucial. Furthermore, despite the number of global studies done on alcohol-related

activities and its factors, there was no clear evidence how extent is the influence of these.

Just like other developing countries, the Philippine law sets 18 as the legal drinking age,

however, it is estimated that 60% of young people have at least tried alcohol before then.

Boys are far more likely to drink than girls, but the females seem to be closing the gap

(DARA, 2010).

The Health Action Information Network of the Philippines (2012) observed that

the majority of youth know how to acquire alcohol – from home with or without their

parents' permission. They are also capable to get it from their peers or they can discreetly

purchase for themselves.

Family Income and Expenditure Survey (1999) had discussed that an average

Filipino family spends one percent of its income on alcoholic beverages. However, if for

example, a minimum wage earner gets Php 500 a day, and if he changes his routine of

drinking at least three bottles of beers every night, that would mean spending Php 100 a

day on beer, which is already 20 percent of his hard earned money.

Young people are at risk particularly related to mental and physical health

problems because alcohol hinders normal development that happens during adolescence.
For some, early experiences with alcohol will be a stepping stone to lifetime drug abuse.

There is also a worrying link between drinking at an early age and suicide because

alcohol can make people more prone to this type of act (DARA, 2010). The National

Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (1997) says that individuals who drink at a

young age are more likely to engage in abusive drinking later in their lives.

In a survey showed by the University of the Philippines in 1994, teenagers said

that their peers and the mass media have influenced them to try drinking alcohol. It seems

that the role of the family plays in youth behaviors is critical for we can infer that

adolescents tend to execute their behaviors based on their own parents' attitudes and

habit. Thus, a boy who grows up with an alcoholic father is more likely to become one

himself. The study also indicated that those who are more likely to drink are those: who

are not living with parents (for example, college students living in dormitories); whose

parents approve of drinking; who frequently attending social gatherings; who enjoy going

out to parties and bars; and who do not take part in sports activities.

In addition, according to Bolyn (2017), young people are usually under pressure,

trying to fit into their peers, afraid of disappointing their parents or even themselves,

experiencing problems at home or in their romantic relationships. These factors are

leading them to use and later on abuse alcohol to cope up with their pressures.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

FACTORS SMOKING HABIT AND

ALCOHOL DRINKING
AWARENESS ON THE BAD
EFFECTS OF SMOKING AND FREQUENCY
ALCOHOL DRINKING EXTENT
PEER INFLUENCE AGE
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTOR