Nowhere in North Holland smoke so many children as in the municipality of Gooise Meren. Nearly 1 in 6 young residents smoke at least one cigarette per week. Many 12 to 16-year-olds also struggle with nicotine addiction in Laren and Texel, according to extensive research by insurance comparator Independer.nl based on data from GGDs and RIVM.
Today starts Stoptober, the month dedicated to quitting smoking. But not if it is up to the Gooi youth. “I smoke an average of ten cigarettes a day,” a young teenager told NH Nieuws.
During the corona crisis, the number of 12 to 16-year-olds who smoke daily has increased by almost 40 percent in the Netherlands. This is striking, because in the previous years there was a decrease. This increase is strongest among girls, according to the national figures.
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Most young smokers per municipality
Nowhere in North Holland is this percentage as high as in the Gooise Meren. The top 5 municipalities within the province with the highest share of young smokers are:
- Gooise Meren: 16% of young people smoke regularly
- Laren: 15.5% of young people smoke regularly
- Texel: 13.4% of young people smoke regularly
- Heemstede: 13.3% of young people smoke regularly
- Bergen: 12.9% of young people smoke regularly
In larger municipalities such as Hilversum (9.8%), Haarlem (8.4%) and Amsterdam (6.9%) this percentage is considerably lower. The research also shows that the municipality of Gooi- en Vechtstreek, after Drenthe, is in second place among GGD regions where young people smoke the most.
The proportion of girls who smoke daily has increased by 56.3 percent during the corona crisis. Among the boys, this is an increase of 25 percent.
The image it is investigating is confirmed in Bussum. “During corona we had nothing to do, so then we started smoking,” says a young girl.
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No ‘Stoptober’ for Gooische children – NH Nieuws
The price of a pack of twenty butts is currently between 7 and 9 euros, but has an age limit of eighteen years and older.
But that age rule is not taken so closely, according to the Gooise children. “There’s always someone who wants to get it for you who is eighteen,” says a 13-year-old girl. “Sometimes you have to pay more, but then you don’t have to show your ID.”