Publication:

Tobacco health hazards awareness among adults in Uttarakhand

Background With Nearly eight million deaths annually, the tobacco epidemic is one of the greatest risks to global public health. According to NFHS-5, 4.6% of women and 337% of men in Uttarakhand use tobacco in some capacity.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults in, Uttarakhand, to evaluate their knowledge related to health hazards of tobacco use. Household Survey was conducted on eighty young adults in the age group of 18-24 years. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed to identify the knowledge gaps among young adults.

Results Most (96.2%) of the adults recognized that tobacco consumption may cause serious health hazards. Approximately 83.75% of the adults were aware that tobacco consumption may lead to heart diseases, however the lack of information about the entire range of health effects of tobacco use is evident from the lesser awareness of other important illnesses such as stroke (42.5% unaware). Significant knowledge gap was seen in mental health hazards of tobacco use. Similarly, 23% of adults were ignorant about the harm that passive smoking does to the foetus. The fact that 57% of adults consume tobacco and believe it helps overcome stress suggests that tobacco use is still deeply entrenched socially and psychologically.

Conclusions Although the participants demonstrated a good basic understanding of the health hazards associated with tobacco use, the majority were still consuming tobacco. Therefore, existing awareness activities need to be revised and implemented more effectively, alongside stricter enforcement of tobacco control laws.