MP10-14 WHAT DO YOUNG ADULTS KNOW ABOUT THE RISK OF UROLOGICAL DISEASE IN SMOKERS?...AND CAN WE INFLUENCE THEM NOT TO SMOKE?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Smoking is the greatest cause of preventable death worldwide. It is an established cause of bladder cancer (BC), renal cancer (RC) and erectile dysfunction (ED). 89% of smokers, start before the age of 18. So children and teenagers need to know the risks of smoking to inifluence them not to smoke. The aim of this study was to assess teenagers (16-18 years) knowledge of the risks of urological disease in smokers, in order to inform health promotion and aid reductions in tobacco use. METHODS: Sixth-form students (n[1009) were surveyed with face to face anonymised questionnaires. Data included demographics, smoking characteristics and knowledge of association of 23 diseases with smoking. The rate of correct responses that smoking causes BC, RC and ED was compared to the other non-urological diseases using one-sample t tests. Chi-square tests were used to determine whether participant characteristics aï:€ected their knowledge of urological disease causation. RESULTS: Participant characteristics Age range (fig 1) 56% female 15% smokers 42% had tries a cigarette 21% had tried an e-cigarette Knowledge of association of diseases with smoking A significantly higher proportion of the population knew that smoking causes non-urological diseases than knew that smoking causes urological diseases. Lung cancer: 98.2% (95% CI 97.4%, 99.0%) Renal cancer: 42.2% (95% CI 39.2%, 45.3%) Erectile dysfunction: 36.3% (95% CI 33.3%, 39.3%) Bladder cancer: 27.7% (95% CI 24.9%, 30.1%) CONCLUSIONS: Many adolescents lack knowledge about the links between smoking and urological disease. Public health efforts need to be targeted at young people to try to prevent them from smoking. However, influencing adolescents requires more than education to acquire knowledge. Consideration needs to be given to the application of Grenny's model (fig 2) to increase the chance of reduction in smoking.