Open AccessTobacco Consumption and its Associated Factors among Nepalese Students
Author(s) -
Pragati Sharma,
Sandip Pahari,
Shiva Raj Acharya,
Dae-Hyuk Moon,
Yong Chul Shin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the open public health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.221
H-Index - 7
ISSN - 1874-9445
DOI - 10.2174/1874944502114010446
Subject(s) - medicine , environmental health , tobacco use , peer pressure , cluster sampling , consumption (sociology) , population , cross sectional study , public health , habit , chewing tobacco , psychology , social psychology , social science , nursing , pathology , cancer , sociology , psychotherapist
Background: Tobacco smoking is one of the major issues among the adolescent population worldwide. WHO has estimated that tobacco use causes six million deaths worldwide each year and predicts reaching eight million by 2030. Our study aims to assess the proportion of tobacco use and its associated factors among Nepalese students. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 430 students in Syangja, Nepal. Samples were selected through the cluster sampling technique. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Chi-square (χ2) test was used to find out the associated factors of tobacco consumption. Results: The prevalence of tobacco usage was found to be 22.8% (males 37.2%, females 8%). Students were regularly exposed to tobacco smoking in public places (70.3%) and at home (62.2%). Peer pressure (62.3%) was the most influencing factor for tobacco consumption, followed by experimentation (18.2%) and tobacco advertisements (7.8%). Cigarette (75.5%) and Hookah (74.5%) were the most common type of tobacco consumed by the participants. Tobacco consumption was higher among private school students (24.5%) than government school students (19.6%). Conclusion: Gender, family type, occupation, and pocket money were associated with tobacco usage (p<0.05). Although the majority of students were aware of the negative health impacts of tobacco use, the usage of tobacco products is still prevalent among Nepalese adolescent students. School-based health education and intervention programs should be implemented to reduce the habit of tobacco consumption.