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Evaluation of awareness, attitude and smoking rates among youngsters in central India

Ekta Sawriya*, Fatima Khan, Jaideep Sur, Deeplaxmi Dewangan, Sourav Bose, Ayesha Roul

 Introduction: It is a well-known fact that cigarette smoking is hazardous to health & is the leading cause of preventable diseases & responsible for more than 5 million deaths every year. Smoking increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and 10 different forms of cancer. Recent data suggest that the current prevalence rate of youngsters smoking in India is 28.6%. A survey- based questionnaire was developed in Google Form to monitor tobacco use, elicit attitudes about tobacco, and obtain information on exposure to tobacco smoke among youth.
Methodology: A questionnaire survey consisting of 20 open-ended questions was conducted among the age group 18-25 years over a period of 3 months from July – September 2019 in the outpatient department of Oral Medicine & Radiology, Rungta College of Dental Sciences and Research Bhilai (CG).
Result: A total of 300 subjects participated out of which 80.3% male, 19.7% female, and the overall smoking rate were found to be 64%. A majority of the participants stated that they adapted to smoking because of peer pressure (87.7%) with believing that smoking is a sign of maturity.
Conclusion: A high percentage of youngsters admitting to smoking cigarettes as demonstrated from our survey highlights a poor indicator of National Health Status. The need to formulate stringent policies to guide youngsters to understand the deleterious effects of tobacco, through advertisements, banners, setting up of de addiction and counseling centers