Associated factors of paan use in Southeast Iran

Abstract

Background: Smokeless tobacco (ST) use is growing among youth in many countries, especially developing ones. Paan is a ST product that is used in many cultures. This study examines the use of paan among high school-age males and assesses the attributed factors. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on 504 high school pupils in Zahedan City, capital of the Sistan va Baluchistan province in Southeast Iran, in June 2007. Samples were selected using a multistage sampling method from high schools in different geographic areas. A questionnaire comprising 43 questions was completed through interviews. The data were analyzed with SPSS software using a chi-square test and logistic regression. Results: The mean age of the participants was 16.2 ± 1.1 years. While 10.4% of the students were current users of paan, 17.9% were ex-users. The mean duration of using paan was 2.5 ± 1.6 years, and the daily paan use was 4.2 ± 3.6 times a day. Cigars were the most common substance used at least once by pupils (18.6%), followed by paan (17.9%), naas (11.5%), and other illicit drugs. Only 64.7% of the pupils had not used any illicit drug at the time of study. The risk of paan use among students who had a history of using other substances was 18 times greater than those in other groups. In the case of attitude, for each attitude score accretion, the risk of paan consumption decreased by nearly 16%. Conclusions: The study showed that among multiple personal, familial, and environmental factors, a positive history of the use of any kind of illicit drug by students and their attitude have a strong association with paan use.