Prevalence of smoking among male secondary school students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

This study was conducted to examine the prevalence of smoking and habits of smoking among male secondary school students in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA] and to assess their knowledge and attitudes toward it. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Jeddah, using a two-stage cluster sampling, randomly selecting 4 out of 85 government male secondary schools. Data were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire eliciting responses to questions on personal background, smoking behavior, knowledge, behavior, and attitude toward smoking. A total of 695 students responded to the questionnaires with 87.4% response rate. Of the studied group, 258 [37%] currently smoked, and of these, 83.7% had started smoking at the age of 14 years or less. The most common reason for smoking was the influence of family, especially the presence of someone at home who smoked [65, 9%] and friends who smoked [42.5%]. Many of the students search for information on the risks of smoking [66.3%], and only [45.3%] knew about the bad effects of passive smoking on others. Two-third of the students who smoked wanted to quit smoking [63.2%], especially if suitable help was offered, whereas [60.9%] had tried to quit. While 50% of students smoked for recreation and entertainment, and [33.6%] had difficulty avoiding smoking in no smoking areas. A well-planned integrated antismoking campaign is urgently required, especially among students and teachers. The study revealed that the prevalence of smoking was high. This will contribute to an increase in smoking-related health problems in the future if proper preventive measures are not taken

Analysis of diarrhea episodes in children reported at a primary health care center in Abha city in the year 2002

Objective: to determine the incidence, characteristics and the different factors associated with diarrhea events reported at the Primary Health Care [PHC] level in children under five years of age

Material and methods: all reported cases of diarrhea in children under 5 in the primary health care [PHC] center of Wasat Abha, Abha city during the year 2002. The medical records of patients were reviewed for name, sex, date, duration of diarrhea and character of stool, type of feeding, degree of dehydration, the treatment received and the outcome

Results: the overall incidence /child/year 2002 was 1.2 episodes. The total number of diarrhea episodes in that age group was 573 cases giving an incidence rate of 9.9% for the year 2002. . Two thirds of the episodes of diarrhea [64.6%] occurred in females, and 60.9% of the episodes affected 7-12-month olds. The majority of diarrhea episodes [89.4%] lasted less than 7 days and only 3.7% of cases were moderately dehydrated. Ninety four percent of the cases improved and only 1.7 % were admitted to the hospital

Conclusion: the incidence of diarrhea episodes in the under fives in the year 2002 was lower than the national rate reported in 1993. Female children had about twice the incidence of diarrhea in male children and the highest incidence was observed in the 7-12-month olds. The majority of cases were acute. It is recommended that studies on the incidence of diarrhea in all PHC centers be done in order to monitor the progress of diarrhea in children and implement suitable preventive measures