Tobacco Habits among the 8 to 15 Years School Children of Rural Haryana

JOURNAL TITLE: Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, Education and Research

Author
1. Vidya Rattan
2. Utkal Mohanty
ISSN
2277-8969
DOI
10.5005/jp-journals-10028-1127
Volume
48
Issue
4
Publishing Year
2014
Pages
3
Author Affiliations
    1. Department of Oral Health Sciences Center, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
    1. Department of Oral Health Sciences Center, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
  • Article keywords

    Abstract

    Aim

    The present cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and age at initiation of tobacco use among school children in rural areas of Haryana.

    Materials and methods

    A cluster sample design was used to produce a representative sample of schools from Panchkula and Ambala district. All students were included from the selected schools and information regarding tobacco use was collected from students of class 3 to 10 (8-15 years) through a self-administered questionnaire.

    Results

    A total of 3526 students with average age of 12.2 ± 2.3 years were screened for tobacco use. About 182 (5.1%) school children were found to be ever users of tobacco and 79 (2.2%) were current tobacco users in any form. Peer pressure was found to be the most common cause of initiating tobacco use by the students.

    Conclusion

    Prevalence of tobacco use among the school children of rural Haryana is lower than that reported in urban areas by Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). However, the downward shift of the age at initiation (<10 years) is a matter of grave concern, which needs to be tackled by creating suitable school environment through health promotion and strengthening anti tobacco laws.

    How to cite this article

    Rattan V, Mohanty U, Goyal A. Tobacco Habits among the 8 to 15 Years School Children of Rural Haryana. J Postgrad Med Edu Res 2014;48(4):183-185.

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