MENACE OF TOBACCO ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION ON ADOLESCENTS' SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND WELL-BEING: IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED COUNSELLING

Abstract

The research centred on the menace of tobacco advertisement and promotion on adolescents' well-being and social behaviour in Lagos, Nigeria. Three research hypotheses were tested and a descriptive survey research method was employed. The population consisted of Senior SecondarySchool students in Lagos, and the sample size was 200 students, both boys and girls, from the four
schools used for the study, who were picked at random, using a stratified random sampling approach. A thirty-item researcher-made questionnaire titled, “Tobacco Advertising and Promotion on Adolescents' Social Behaviours and Well-being”. (TAPSOW), was employed. The Cronbach alpha score obtained for the reliability was 0.70 at a 0.05 level of significance. The results from the
data analysis found that there is a significant effect of tobacco advertising and promotion on the smoking tendency of adolescents as r = 0.82 > r = 0.096; Tobacco smoking has a significant effect on adolescents' social behaviour (such as drug abuse, stealing, unruly behaviour) and well-being (such as mental disorder, sickness, unkempt appearance) as r=0.77 > r-tab = 0.196 and the smoking
habits of adolescents differ significantly by gender at 28.61 > t - critical at 1.68). Three null hypotheses were rejected. As part of the recommendations, there should be quality awareness through effective guidance and counselling in schools on how adolescents can overcome the deceptive information being propagated by tobacco manufacturers. Also, for proper emotional, cognitive and social adjustment, effective trauma-informed counselling will be essential.