ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the causes and awareness of smoking in general population
Study Design: Observational / descriptive study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at General Medicine OPD of PUMHS Hospital Nawabshah from 2015 up to January 2016
Materials and Methods: Two hundred patients were integrated in the study following receiving verbal well-versed consent. A self-administered questionnaire was filled and information was collected regarding reasons of smoking, and awareness regarding smoking that weather it is harmful, what is passive smoking etc
Results: When cases were interviewed regarding awareness of smoking than 121[60.5%] answered correctly that smoking is harmful for health while 79[39.5%] answered incorrectly. Passive smoking is risky for health, was answered correctly only by 76[38%] while 124[62%] persons did not knew that passive smoking very risky for health. Only 29[14.5%] cases answered correctly about smoking quitting centers in our country. 89[44.5%] peoples smoke to relieve occupational stress, 79[39.5%] participants smokes to relieve domestic stress, 67[33.5%] smoke for the digestive purpose, 111[55.5%] smokes when sitting with friends, 113[56.6%] smokes due to peer pressure and 78[39%] smokes due to habit from childhood and also their parents were smoker
Conclusion: This study showed that peoples had low level of consciousness regarding injurious consequences of smoking. Common reasons were seen peer pressure, reduce stress and digestive purpose