The increasing use of drugs and alcohol, especially among teenagers, has become a serious concern for residents of Walvis Bay and Swakopmund in the Erongo Region.

This was shared during the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender Equality, Social Development, and Family Affairs consultations on gender-based violence and femicide in the towns.

Committee chairperson Gotthard Kasuto says consultations follow a petition in 2020 by the Shut It All Down Movement to Parliament seeking an end to sexual violence and femicide.

Statistics provided by the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) indicate that 31% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 15 are already smoking, while about 50% are exposed to secondhand smoking.

It is further estimated that 20% of men and five percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 consume tobacco in Namibia.

What is also concerning is smoking and secondhand smoke exposure among children.

People who are exposed to secondhand smoke can suffer the same consequences as those who smoke.