Smoking on the rise in Barbados

The Barbados Nation reported that a recent study by Dr Anthony Lewegaba of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus revealed that about 36 percent of youth have tried smoking cigarettes.

That statistic was more than triple the number of adult Barbadians who smoked, which was estimated at 10 percent.

Lewegaba divulged those figures on Wednesday at the official launch of the Barbados Coalition for Tobacco Control.

Lewegaba, who is also one of the directors of the coalition, said that it was one of the reasons that the thrust of the campaign for a smoke-free Barbados should be geared towards young people.

The Nation reported that, according to Lewegaba, about 36 percent of youth have attempted to smoke, adding that “if you estimate that half of them will eventually smoke, then you will have about 18 percent”.