40% of fathers smoke, survey shows
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40% of fathers smoke, survey shows

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Almost four in ten fathers in Thailand smoke cigarettes, which mostly has a negative influence on their children, especially as more young people are now vaping while the average age of people who vape drops each year, according to new survey findings.

The survey, conducted recently on 1,159 fathers and other male relatives who have a key role in raising a child from birth until six years of age, found that 39.8% of respondents are smokers, said Asst Prof Wasin Siwaasarit, a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics at Thammasat University. Most (77.22%) smoke cigarettes, 12.36% vape and the rest both smoke both, he said.

About 20% of respondents said they stopped smoking when they knew they were going to have a baby, said Asst Prof Wasin.

The vast majority (77.87%) of those who continue smoking cigarettes do so because they are unable to quit despite knowing the habit can harm their children, he said.

However, these smoking fathers admitted to having very little knowledge about the health hazards tied to vaping, particularly what toxic chemicals the e-liquids contain, said the lecturer.

"Vapes are causing problems in Thai society," said Dr Pongthep Wongwatcharapaiboon, manager of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth).

Vape juices are found to contain various carcinogenic heavy metals and more than 16,000 artificial flavourings, which induce inflammation in respiratory tissue cells and blood vessels, he said.

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