Community experience in protecting early-teenagers from initiation of smoking: An Indonesian perspective

Background: Initiation of smoking habit often occurs in early teens due to the interaction of teenagers with the social environment. The community has an important role in protecting teenagers from the habit of smoking. Objective: The research was aimed to explore the experience of the community in protecting the early-teenagers from smoking habit from the perspective of Indonesian people. Materials and Methods: The qualitative study used the descriptive phenomenology approach on 100 participants (early-teenagers, parents, teachers, and school nurses) who were selected through snowball sampling method. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews using open-ended questions. The data were analysed manually using the data source triangulation method. Results: Six research topics were concluded: 1) screening of habits related to health, 2) smoking bans, 3) punishment for smoking habit, 4) smoke-free counseling, 5) evaluation of efforts done, and 6) follow-up of smoking-free programs. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated the importance of consistent efforts to prevent the initiation of smoking habit in early-teenagers both at school and at home. The communities around them at school and home need to have people with healthy non-smoking habit as good role models for the teens.