Perceptions and practice of tobacco use among adolescents of Mangalore city

• Main Authors: Rajani Mary George, Teenu Thomas
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2018-01-01
• Series: Journal of Indian Association of Public Health Dentistry
• Subjects: Adolescent; awareness; cigarette smoking; smokeless tobacco; tobacco use
• Online Access: http://www.jiaphd.org/article.asp?issn=2319-5932;year=2018;volume=16;issue=3;spage=242;epage=245;aulast=George

Background: Adolescence is a period, wherein teenagers try various mannerisms to acquire what best suits them. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey, India (2009–2010), reported that among the minors (15–17 years), 9.6% consumed tobacco in some form which cannot be ignored. Thus, there is an utmost need to protect the future generation from the gripping hands of tobacco and plan effective strategies to reduce its intake. Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the perceptions and practice of tobacco use among the adolescent students of Mangalore city. Materials and Methods: A structured, close-ended questionnaire study was designed, and data on tobacco usage were collected from 407 students aged 15–17 years, studying in various preuniversity colleges of Mangalore city, who had enrolled in Tobacco Free Kids Campaign. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 16.0, and descriptive statistics was applied. Results: Out of the 407 children, 102 (25%) have tried cigarette smoking, while 7.9% have tried smokeless tobacco. Almost 14.3% of them attempted to buy tobacco products and the shopkeepers sold it to them. A major proportion of the adolescents, 81.1% of them, believe that smoking can definitely cause harm to health, while 66.1% of them were aware about the harmful effects of passive smoking. About 73.7% were in favor of the idea of banning smoking in all enclosed public places. Conclusions: The adolescent students of Mangalore city are relatively well aware of the ill effects of tobacco, but a small proportion of them still use tobacco in some form which cannot be ignored.