Questionnaire study on knowledge, attitude and practice on factors associated with initiation and cessation of tobacco among patients using tobacco products

Abstract

A study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of factors associated with initiation and cessation of tobacco among patients using tobacco products. A KAP study was conducted among patients using tobacco products of various age groups attending the outpatient department in a dental college in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A self-constructed questionnaire by our team was framed and distributed to 100 subjects. The data collected was then analysed with SPSS software (version 21) statistically to obtain the results. In this study, predominantly 69% of the subjects started the habit of using tobacco products in the age group of 15-25 years. Most commonly used tobacco product was cigarette (56%) and the frequency of tobacco usage was 5-10 times per day (50%). About 68% of the questioned subjects are aware of passive smoking and 94% are aware of the consequences of using tobacco products. High prevalence of tobacco usage was observed among younger age group. This calls for the need that educational institutions mandate the inclusion of awareness of health hazards of cigarette smoking in their curriculums. This is a much needed intervention to extricate them from this habit.