SMOKING HABITS AND ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS AT THE MEDICAL AND ECONOMIC AND TOURISM SCHOOL IN KARLOVAC

Pušenje je veliki javno zdravstveni problem, posebno u nerazvijenim i srednje razvijenim zemljama, među koje se ubraja i Hrvatska. Jedan je od najvažnijih uzroka obolijevanja. Ovisnost koja nastaje kod osoba koje redovito puše cigarete je vrlo jaka, mnogi smatraju da je to čak i najjača ovisnost. Cilj istraživanja je utvrditi učestalost pušenja među učenicima koji pohađaju dva različita obrazovna programa, medicinskog i ekonomskog usmjerenja. Svrha istraživanja je utvrditi razlikuju li se njihovi stavovi i navike. Ispitanici su učenici trećih i četvrtih razreda smjera medicinska sestra/tehničar iz Medicinske škole te smjera ekonomist iz Ekonomsko – turističke škole u Karlovcu. Anketom su prikupljeni podaci o sociodemografskim obilježjima, pušačkom statusu učenika i roditelja te stavovima učenika prema pušenju. Podaci prikupljeni anketiranjem učenika obrađeni su metodama deskriptivne statistike. Podaci pokazuju kako od 90 učenika Medicinske škole puši njih 41,1% a od 78 učenika Ekonomsko – turističke škole puši 29 učenika. Broj pušača je veći među učenicima Medicinske škole, međutim utvrđeno je da navedena razlika nije statistički značajna. Učenici većinom ni sami ne znaju zašto su počeli pušiti a ostali razlozi početka pušenja su stres, društvo i dosada. Iako nešto veći broj učenika puši u Medicinskoj školi značajno više su svjesni opasnosti povezanih s pušenjem nego učenici Ekonomko – turističke škole. Početak pušenja kod mnogih mladih je reakcija na vršnjački pritisak u dobi u kojoj su posebno osjetljivi na takav pritisak. Kao mladi ljudi u ovom razdoblju fizičkog i mentalnog razvoja, mladi se suočavaju s različitim izazovima koje im život predstavlja, a suočavaju se i s okruženjem koje često ne razumiju u potpunosti.Smoking is a major public health problem, especially in underdeveloped and middle-developed countries, including Croatia. It is one of the most important causes of the disease. The addiction that occurs with people who smoke cigarettes is very strong, many believe that it is even the strongest addiction. The aim of the study is to determine the incidence of smoking among students attending two different educational programs, medical and economic. The purpose of the research is to determine if their attitudes and habits differ. The respondents are students of third and fourth grades of the direction nurse / medical technician from the Medical School and the direction economist from the Economics and Tourism School in Karlovac. The survey collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, smoking status of students and parents, and students' attitudes toward smoking. The data collected by the student survey were processed using descriptive statistics methods. Data show that 41.1% of 90 students of the Medical School smoke and 29 of 78 students of the School of Economics and Tourism. The number of smokers is higher among Medical School students, however, the difference was found not to be statistically significant. For the most part, students do not even know why they started smoking and other reasons for starting smoking are stress, society and boredom. Although slightly more students smoke at the Medical School, they are significantly more aware of the dangers associated with smoking than students of the Economics and Tourism School. The onset of smoking in many young people is a reaction to peer pressure at an age when they are particularly sensitive to such pressure. As young people in this period of physical and mental development, young people are confronted with the various challenges life presents them with, and they are also faced with an environment that they often do not fully understand