Republic of the Philippines

Sultan Kudarat State University

LABORATORY SCIENCE HIGHSCHOOL
ACCESS, EJC Montilla, Tacurong City
________________________________________________________________________________________

Why Teens Engage in Smoking and Drinking Habits:

Growing Up with Addiction

Researchers:
Al-Usamin Bensatar U. Lamalan
Ivon Carl A. Escaro
Julyve Jed M. Factor
Julz Nichole A. Gonzalez
Krizia Adrianne P. Saldana
Leanne J. Nequia
Mary Antonette P. Fuentes

Consultant:
FRAN SHIEL B. EDZRAEL

Instructor:
HASSANAL P. ABUSAMA, MAT
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study 1

Significance of the Study 2

Statement of the Problem 3

Profile of the Respondents 4

Scope and Delimitation 5

Definition of Terms 5

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Smoking 6

Effects of Smoking 6

What is Alcohol? 7

Underage Drinking in the Philippines 8

Causes and Effects of Drinking Alcohol 10

Alcohol’s Effect 12

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

Research Design 16

Population of Samples 16

Data Gathering Procedure 16

Data Processing Procedure 17

Chapter I
 INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Tobacco and alcohol, often referred to as “gateway drugs,” are among

the first substances consumed by adolescents. This is likely influenced by their

ready availability along with other sociocultural (e.g., peer influences,

acculturation) and biological factors (e.g., family history of substance use

disorders) (Vega and Gil 2005). Cigarettes and liquor drinking has been the

mark of today’s high school youth. Even amidst of them, being an underage

teens, they still partake in contributing to be one of the societies unsolved

problem by means of underage smoking and alcoholic drinking. It can be

differentiable that adolescent stage is more active and welcoming to all kinds

of stuff that influences them both in physical and emotional aspects. Our

environment is the one that moulds our being. It forms us to be the type of

person we should be. It should be added that environmental factor is one of the

major contributor of this problem. For example, a person may have this

addiction because of the type of environment that surrounds them.

By the time young people reach especially in high school, they are being

prone to smoking and alcoholic drinking. It is the stage where they seek for

independency amongst themselves. It is by smoking and drinking liquors that

becomes their salvation. Though in some cases, some minors do such act just

to show off. Even the poorest of the poor manage to buy some for their habit.

Being through your adolescent stage takes a great deal of adjustment. It is the
most crucial stage above all because the future of a person lies upon its

environment and society been living with. It is the stage where circumstances

hit you like a solid rock especially in your weakest times and those that you

least expect it to happen. Families been broken, financial status has dropped

down, studies have failed and all sorts of problem that leads to total depression.

And this is the part where they resort to underage drinking and smoking.

The public is completely aware of this fact (underage drinking and

smoking) but instead of showing concern it is the disgust feeling that

overpowered their emotion. Their perspective of them as the “black sheep” in

our society makes the difference.

The objective of this study is to know more about those minors’ life

being involved to underage smoking and alcoholic drinking. What provokes

them to resent into such doing. And at the same time be able to help them and

improve their feeling.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Much of the research in this area has focused on concurrent use of

cigarettes and alcohol, which predicts a variety of problems, both during

adolescence and beyond. For example, it has been found that youth who

smoke and drink have an increased risk of having difficulties at school,

delinquency, and use of other drugs (Hoffman et al. 2001). We aim to seek the

very basic factor of why does our respondents behaves that way upon seeing

alcoholic drinks particularly liquors and cigarettes. And what triggers them to

turn to alcoholic drinking and smoking.

 The study will be focus on the Teens Engage in Smoking and Drinking

Liquor Habits: Growing up with addiction. The intent of this study is to help

especially minors that seeks solutions for their habits. Our main beneficiary

would revolve around underage minors especially high school youth.

Underage smoking and alcoholic drinking becomes crucial in today’s

time. It is one of the top problems especially in this society because if not been

guided can lead to addiction or other worse cases. Through this study, we can

at least fill up the knowledge gap between the community and the respondents.

Somehow, our respondents want to be understood by the community but are

afraid of their misjudgment. Moreover, we aim to touch the interest of various

groups concerning health issues. And particularly by the school they are

currently in. The teachers, with the help of their parents, may do a pretty good

job in guiding their student or son. Furthermore, through this study a strong

foundation of relationship may be built between the respondents and their

teachers or the respondents and their parents.

The researchers becomes a direct contributor to resolve and motivate

our respondents if they want to reconcile in a new living. In addition, this study

can pinch in to some researchers who are doing a much greater research than

we do say “widely” or to those who are about to conduct the same study in the

near future.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to answer the following:

a. What kind of environment nurture these minors.

b. How did they end up in this kind of situation?

 c. What benefits does this minors obtain when smoking and

drinking?

PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

Respondent A

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Area: Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat

Respondent B

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Area: Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat

Respondent C

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Area: Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat

Respondent D

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Area: Isulan, Sultan Kudarat

Respondent E

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Area: Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study is focused on Why Teens Engage in Smoking and Drinking

Liquors Habits: Growing Up with Addiction. This study will be conducted during

the school year 2017-2018. With 5 respondents between the ages 12-17 that

resides within Sultan Kudarat. This study is limited to the reasons why teens

engage in smoking and alcohol drinking. This research study will only tackle

underage smoking and alcohol drinking and will not include any data that is

inappropriate to this study.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Teenage - denoting a person between 13 and 19 years old.

Underage - too young to engage legally in a particular activity,

especially drinking alcohol

Addiction - the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular

substance, thing, or activity.

Engage - participate or become involved in

Tobacco - the plant of the nightshade family that yields tobacco, native

to tropical America. It is widely cultivated in warm regions,

especially in the US and China

Nicotine - a toxic colourless or yellowish oily liquid that is the chief

active constituent of tobacco. It acts as a stimulant in small

doses, but in larger amounts blocks the action of autonomic

nerve and skeletal muscle cells. Nicotine is also used in

insecticides.
 Chapter II

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter includes Review of Literature, Related Studies, and its Synthesis.

Smoking

As defined in the article, smoking is the inhalation of the smoke from

burned tobacco. Cigarette smoking may occur occasionally or habitually. It is

addictive because of nicotine, a remarkably addictive drug. When you smoke,

nicotine is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream and within seconds of

entering to your body, it reaches your brain. Addiction keeps people smoking

even when they want to quit, it causes many side effects including

cardiovascular and respiratory damage. (Leone, 2010)

When it comes to smoking, men and women have different perspectives

about it. Smoking is used to be considered more of a male pursuit because of

much higher numbers of men smoking. Men and women have different reasons

on why they smoke and how they feel when they smoke. Male smokes to feel

more alert and enjoys the positive feeling associated with the habit. Women

smoke because they find it relaxing and to relieve their stress, they smoke less

for the nicotine. The study also shows that women find it much harder to quit

smoking than men do because they find nicotine helpful, especially during the

last two weeks of their menstrual cycle. (Thompson, 2009)

Effects of Smoking

By starting at a young age, smoking develops deep and long-term

nicotine addiction. Teen smoking occurs for a number of reasons. Some might

see it as a rebellion or a way to have independence. But, cigarette smoking has

also a terrible effect on health. It can cause cough, can increase the production

of phlegm. Respiratory illness may also occur more often. By also smoking,

you can acquire bad breath, stained teeth, and even sore throat. (Thompson,

2011)

Cigarette smoking has disastrous consequences; it can damage every

organ of the body. According to the article, “Cigarette smoking is deadlier on

an annual basis than HIV/AIDS, motor vehicle crashes, drug abuse,

alcoholism, suicide, and murder… combined.”

Cancer, one of the first disease researchers linked to cigarette,

continues to be smoking’s most well-known effect. Aside from cancer, smoking

can also give you respiratory diseases such as: chronic bronchitis and

emphysema. Smoking also affects the heart and the circulatory system.

(Thompson, 2009)

What is Alcohol?

According to the World Health Organization “Consumption of alcohol

carries a risk of adverse health and social consequences. Alcoholic beverages

is common in social gathering that brings some diseases like chronic disease

that may develop increased risk of acute health conditions, such as injuries,

including from traffic accidents”. Nowadays many individuals are drinking

alcohol not knowing its effects and damage not only to their own health but also

to their environment and the people around them. Alcohol is a harmful

substance though it can help in the blood circulation of however it has addictive

properties that is why a person that often drinks it may acquire chronic

diseases.

According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

(NSDUH), 86.4 percent of people ages 18 or older reported that they drank

alcohol at some point in their lifetime; 70.1 percent reported that they drank in

the past year; 56.0 percent reported that they drank in the past month. While

almost six million people die from tobacco use and 2.5 million from harmful use

of alcohol each year worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports.

Diseases arises because we humans abuses our body we violates our

limitations and losses our minds whenever we drink alcohol. Alcohol alone is

not the only factor that affects our health but we cannot deny that it is one of

the most reasons why we humans die.

Underage Drinking in the Philippines

The legal drinking age in the Philippines is 18, but it is estimated

that 60% of young people will have at least tried alcohol before then. Underage

boys are far more likely to drink than underage girls, but the females seem to

be closing the gap. The fact that so many young people drink alcohol is a real

worry. The youth nowadays want to be addressed as a mature individual at a

young age, they don’t want to be scolded and be manipulated by their parents.

The fact that drinking alcohol is a habit of grown-ups makes them think that

drinking it would make them look powerful and mighty

 According to the 2015 NSDUH, an estimated 623,000 adolescents ages

12–17 (2.5 percent of this age group) had AUD (Alcohol Use Disorder). This

number includes 298,000 males (2.3 percent of males in this age group) and

325,000 females (2.7 percent of females in this age group). This shows that the

number of adolescents engaging in alcohol drinking doesn’t only increase, the

age of children’s engaging to this stuffs are also getting younger and younger.

This also indicates that we are also prone in chronic diseases drinking alcohol

intake causes.

In the 15th CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

First Regular Session Introduced by Senator Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr. Jan 17,

2011 “In the Philippines it is disturbing that due to lenient monitoring and

implementation, alcohol such as beer and hard drinks can easily be bought in

grocery and convenience stores by teenagers. Our law sets the minimum legal

drinking age at 18, nevertheless underage drinking is widespread and

prevalent. As a result, a number of cases of violence;' sexual and drug abuse

and suicide among Filipino teenagers have been attributed to drunkenness or

alcohol intoxication. For this reason, this is already a growing concern on our

society especially on youth behaviors, as well as to the culture of our country.”

This move of the government is necessary for if it is not the government that

would interfere people will act freely as they wish. The fact that alcohol drinking

minors causes crimes and death threaten the people that results to this move

of the government. This bill seeks to guarantee that our nation's youth would

carry out their responsibility in building our nation, proscribe minors from

drinking alcohol, penalize those who abet them to gain access to alcohol and

punish establishments that sell alcohol to minors.

 According to an act that prohibits the access of minors to alcohol and

penalizes establishments that furnish alcohol to minors. The penalties given to

people who violates this law are the following:

(1) Any minor who has violated any of the provisions of this act shall be

required to render community service. Community service may consist of such

acts as being required to appear before school groups to explain the dangers

of alcohol abuse. The objective is to require the offenders to provide services

that benefit society in a more constructive way and introduce the idea of ethical

action into the value system of the perpetrator. Such minor shall then be

committed to the care of his father or mother, or nearest relative or family friend

or the proper rehabilitation facility if so required.

(2) Suspension of driver's license for those who permitted unlawful or

fraudulent use of their license in connection with any of the violations listed

above.

(3) Establishments that have violated any of the provisions of this law

are subject to fines of ten thousand pesos (PIO,OOO) for the first offense and

fifty thousand pesos (P50,OOO) for a repeated offense. Suspension or

revocation of the license of repeat offenders shall be recommended to the

appropriate local government unit.

Causes and Effects of Drinking Alcohol

Alcoholism has been known by a variety of terms, including alcohol

abuse and alcohol dependence. Today, it’s referred to as alcohol use disorder.

The youth who is supposed to have a vital role in nation building is in a huge

stake when it comes to alcoholism. Some people drink for partying and just
having fun but there are also certain reasons why it falls to addiction.

Alcoholism is result of a combination of genetic, psychological, environmental

and social factors.

o STRESSFUL ENVIRONMENTS

Adults are prone to stress because of exhaustion in their jobs

but the youth of today is also caught in this miserable scenario. Other

people may have a good self-control that is why they don’t engage in

alcoholism to relieve stress but there are also people who does. When

a person has a stressful job, for example, they may be more likely to

drink heavily. This is often the case with certain occupations such as

doctors and nurses – their day-to-day lives can be extremely stressful.

o DRINKING AT AN EARLY AGE

According to the Mayo Clinic, There is a greater possibility that

the early people engage in drinking alcohol the more prone they are to

become dependent to it as they grow older. Not only is this because

drinking may become a comfortable habit, but also because the body’s

tolerance levels may increase.

o MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS LIKE DEPRESSION

Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder or other mental health

issues can increase risk of alcoholism. It’s easy to turn to alcohol when

a person is feeling anxious or depressed – and the effects of alcohol

may seem to temporarily ease those feelings. This can resort to drinking

more and more, leading to alcohol addiction.

 o TAKING ALCOHOL WITH MEDICINE

Some medicines can increase the toxic effects of alcohol on the

body. When a person continually takes alcohol with their medications,

they may become addicted to the effects that follow – some of which

have the capability to be very dangerous and even life-threatening.

o FAMILY HISTORY

If you have a parent or other relative who is an alcoholic, your risk

of alcoholism automatically increases. Part of this is due to genetics, but

the other part has to do with your environment. Spending time around

people who drink heavily or abuse alcohol can influence you to do the

same.

Alcohol’s Effect

The increasing number of people drinking alcohol is unstoppable not

only in adults but most importantly in minors though there is already a law that

prohibits alcohol drinking in minors some manage to violate this law. Alcohol

can modulate the activities of all of these cell populations by affecting the

frequency, survival, and function of most of these cells, thereby interfering with

pivotal immune responses. However, unlike other mechanisms that cause

classical immunocompromised states, such as HIV or tuberculosis infection,

alcohol use typically results in a subclinical immunosuppression that becomes

clinically significant only in case of a secondary insult. For example, chronic

alcohol consumption increases the risk and severity of chronic infections with

HIV; hepatitis C virus (HCV); or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that

causes tuberculosis, and promotes post-trauma immunosuppression (Gyongyi

Szabo, M.D., Ph.D. and Banishree Saha, Ph.D. 2005).

According to the National Institute of alcohol abuse and alcoholism

“Drinking too much – on a single occasion or over time – can take a serious toll

on your health.” Here’s how alcohol can affect your body:

Brain:

Alcohol interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can

affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood

and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly and move with coordination.

Heart:

Drinking a lot over a long time or too much on a single occasion can

damage the heart, causing problems including:

Cardiomyopathy – Stretching and drooping of heart muscle

Arrhythmias – Irregular heart beat

Stroke

High blood pressure

Research also shows that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol may

protect healthy adults from developing coronary heart disease. Increasing

evidence suggests that alcohol may modulate the composition of pathogenic

and commensal organisms in the microbiome of the gut, oral cavity, skin, and

other mucosal surfaces (Chen and Schnabl 2014; Leclercq et al. 2014a,b).

Liver:

Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver, and can lead to a variety of

problems and liver inflammations including:

Steatosis, or fatty liver

 Alcoholic hepatitis

Fibrosis

Cirrhosis

Pancreas:

Alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can

eventually lead to pancreatitis, a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the

blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion.

Cancer:

Drinking too much alcohol can increase your risk of developing certain

cancers, including cancers of the:

Mouth

Esophagus

Throat

Liver

Breast

ImmuneSystem:

Drinking too much can weaken your immune system, making your body

a much easier target for disease. Chronic drinkers are more liable to contract

diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis than people who do not drink too

much. Drinking a lot on a single occasion slows your body’s ability to ward off

infections – even up to 24 hours after getting drunk.

Alcohol’s Effects on Maturation and Development of Immune Cells From

Precursors

Alcohol abuse has an adverse effect on hematopoiesis and can cause

leukopenia, granulocytopenia, and thrombocytopenia in humans (Latvala et al.

2004). Acute alcohol can block differentiation or maturation of granulocytes

(i.e., granulopoiesis) during infections (Zhang et al. 2009). Examination of the

bone marrow from alcoholic patients has shown vacuolated granulopoietic

progenitors with a significantly reduced number of mature granulocytes (Yeung

et al. 1988).

SYNTHESIS

Children with parents that have smoking and liquor drinking habits are

more likely to obtain these habits during their teenage years because of the

current environment that they are living on. The main chemical that causes this

addiction to tobacco is called nicotine. Smoking tobacco causes damage to the

cardio vascular system of the person engaged to such activity. The addiction

to tobacco smoking is linked into several diseases such as lung cancer,

emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. On the other hand, alcohol or ethanol, is

a type of sedative and hypnotic drug. Alcohol is present in wine, beer, and

spirits. To teens, alcohol drinking can lead into a long term and harmful

changes to the brain especially to the hippocampus which is responsible to

retaining memory and learning. Aside from diseases, the users involved have

a great chance of committing suicides and murder. Deaths and accidents also

occur when a person is driving under the influence of alcohol. This may lead

into serious car accidents and cause unintentional harm to bystanders.

 Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter will discuss about Research Design, Respondents, Data

Gathering Procedure, and Data Processing Procedure.

Research Design

The method used in this study is qualitative case study, to find the fact

of the study with adequate and accurate interpretation of data. The research

employed interview as the main data gathering instrument.

Respondents

The population is consist of 5 smoking and drinking minors that engage

to tobacco smoking at least once a day and drink twice a week.

Data Gathering Procedure

The data will be gathered through an in depth interview with the

respondents regarding the issue we are currently working on, through this

method, the interviewer and the interviewee will have a face-to-face

relationship. The interview will be semi-structured in order for the interviewer to

probe with questions that he/she thinks that are fit for the current situation. The

interviewee or the respondents shall supply the information the interviewer is

asking for.
Data Processing Procedure

The data will be subjected to thorough analysis and will be directly

interpreted. The data will also be analysed through the description of the case

and the context of the case. It is to be sure that the data forms are complete,

free of bias, the recordings free of errors, are the inconsistencies in responses

are within limits, there are no evidences to show dishonesty of enumerators or

interviewers, and there no any wanton manipulation of data.

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https://www.everydayhealth.com/smoking-
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