Evaluation of the prevalence of waterpipe tobacco smoking and its related factors in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

This study is designed to evaluate the prevalence of waterpipe tobacco smoking and its related factors among Iranian adults. This is a cross-sectional study carried out during 2013/14 in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, among 1830 citizens aged over 15 years. Sampling was through Stratified multistage cluster sampling with proportional allocation within strata. Global Adult Tobacco Survey [GATS] questionnaire for waterpipe consumption was used for data gathering. Data were statistically analyzed by SPSS software. The prevalence of current waterpipe tobacco smoking was 17.6% .Waterpipe use prevalence in men was significantly more than women [24.2% vs. 11.3%]. Multivariate analysis showed that age, sex, cigarette consumption, waterpipe consumption at home and ignorance of safety issues significantly influenced current waterpipe smoking [P = 0.001]. Thus, prevalence of waterpipe smoking in Iranian adults is high and significant. Tackling waterpipe smoking should be considered in tobacco control programmes. However, further studies in this field are needed

Smoking knowledge, attitude and behavior of child labor who live in Tehran during 2013-2014

Children and adolescent smoking is one of the most important health problems in the world. There is a major concern that child labor may generate a pseudo maturity syndrome, including smoking. The current survey focus on smoking behavior, knowledge and attitude of child labor are working in Tehran. The study adopted a cross-sectional design, based on a primary pilot descriptive cross sectional study, using GYTS self-administered questionnaire. 816 child labor, which were student of work labor schools or worked as child labor on Tehran parks and crossing roads, were randomly selected using multi stage cluster sampling. DATA analyzed using SPSS v.22 [IBM statistic] software and chi square test to compare the frequency of variables in different groups. 50.6% of our participants were boy and child laboring age varied from 11 to 17 years old. 18.6% of child labor had smoking experience [Confident Interval 95%=17.3-20.1]. 9.8% of them were current smoker [CI 95%=8.6-10.9] and 1.2% were current regular smoker [CI 95%=0.9-2.1]. Child labor smoking hazard knowledge was evaluated by considering the minimum and maximum score of 10 to 30. Results demonstrated that the mean score of knowledge, attitude and behavior were 17.1 +/- 6.2, 36.5 +/- 16.1 [range 15-45] and 46.1 +/- 3.0 [range 25-75], respectively. Considering to our findings, planning tobacco control program for these specific groups is required, aiming at preventing cigarette smoking by increasing the knowledge and correcting their attitude

Behavior and knowledge of Iranian professional athletes towards smoking

This study aimed to assess the rate of tobacco consumption among professional athletes in Iran and assessing their knowledge and attitude in this regard. A total of 738 athletes from 10 different types of sports were evaluated. Athletes were all members of the priority leagues. After obtaining consent from the Physical Education Organization and coordination with the related federations, athletes were asked to fill out the standard questionnaire. All understudy subjects were males. The mean age was 28.4 +/- 2.7 yrs. The mean age of initiation of sport in these subjects was reported to be 12.3 +/- 4.01 yrs. A total of 178 [24.6%] subjects had experienced cigarette smoking and 308 [42.3%] had experienced hookah smoking. Sixty four subjects [9%] were current smokers. The mean score of knowledge about hazards of smoking was 5.6 +/- 0.9 among those who had experienced smoking. This score was 7.9 +/- 0.5 among those with no smoking experience [P=0.04]. Rate of smoking among professional athletes is lower than general population average. So participation in organized sports may be a protective factor against tobacco use in people

Correlation between the age of smoking initiation and maintaining continuous abstinence for 5 years after quitting

Many factors affect tobacco quit rate. In this study we investigated the abstinence rate after 5 years based on the age of smoking initiation. This pre-post field trial study was conducted on 398 smokers who participated voluntarily in a smoking cessation clinic in 2005. They were followed for 5 years and their success or failure in continuous abstinence was evaluated and recorded in 2010. Three hundred and five participants [76.6%] succeeded at the end of the course. Follow up at the end of 2010 revealed that 111 [27.8%] cases were still maintaining their continuous abstinence after 5 years including 64 men and 47 women. The mean age of smoking initiation in successful and failed subjects was 21.9 and 20.7 years respectively. The age of smoking initiation could be a predictor of maintaining abstinence in the future. Starting smoking at an earlier age could have a negative effect on long-term abstinence

Efficacy of harm reduction programs among patients of a smoking cessation clinic in Tehran, Iran

Background: Recently, harm reduction programs have been used to reduce mortality and morbidity among smokers. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of harm reduction programs on the smoking patterns of subjects who presented to a smoking cessa-tion clinic in Tehran, Iran

Methods: This observational study was conducted between September 2008-September 2009 on 132 patients who were unable to quit smoking. Patients were enrolled by the first come first service method. During the study period, subjects were assigned to either group or individual visits every 15 days in conjunction with the use of nicotine gum. The main objective of this study was to evaluate at the third and sixth months of follow-up: the number of smoked cigarettes, level of expired carbon monoxide [CO], and numbers of nicotine gum used. Data were analyzed by the Wilcoxon rank, Fisher's exact, and Pearson's chi-square tests and SPSS version 17 software

Results: A total of 87.1% of the subjects were males. We noted decreases in the number of cigarettes smoked daily and the level of expired CO, whereas the amount of nicotine gum used significantly increased during the time interval between the first session and the third and sixth month follow-up visits [p<0.001 for all variables]. During the follow up sessions, 64.4% of subjects reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked daily by at least 50% and 12.9% of subjects quit smoking

Conclusion: Behavioral and pharmacological therapy in harm reduction programs result in a decrease in the number of cigarettes smoked daily and a reduction in the amount of expired CO. Therefore, these methods can be beneficial in achieving complete smoking cessation

Comparison of spermatozoa quality in male smokers and nonsmokers of Iranian infertile couples

Smoking has a negative effect on fertility and sperm quality. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of smoking on sperm quality and the related parameters such as sperm concentration, morphology and motility. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 180 infertile men with at least one year history of idiopathic infertility, who admitted to the Avicenna Infertility Center, Tehran, Iran. A complete history including smoking habits and other diseases was obtained and semen analysis was performed for all participants. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 16 and t test and Mann-whitney tests with a significance level of alpha = 0.05. Comparison of sperm parameters in the two groups of smoker and nonsmoker subjects showed that active smoking [p=0.04] and cigarette consumption even in small amounts [p=0.03] decreased sperm concentration, However, no significant correlation was detected between smoking status and morphology or motility of sperms. This study failed to find a significant correlation between sperm analysis and smoking status except for sperm concentration, which was significantly decreased in the active smokers ,even in those consuming small amounts of tobacco. This finding propounds that tobacco consumption may negatively affect fertility

[Smoking cessation success rate and its relation to severity of nicotine withdrawal syndrome]

Smoking cessation at any age is the most effective way to reduce disease progression especially in pulmonary disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Understanding the barriers against successful quit can increase the efficacy of smoking cessation programs. In this study we have evaluated the relation between successful cessation and intensity of nicotine withdrawal syndrome. It was a cross sectional study. During a one year course the volunteers stopped their smoking by nicotine gum under the supervision of the physician. At the end of the course the intensity of nicotine withdrawal syndrome was evaluated. Then the relation between smoking cessation rate and the intensity of nicotine withdrawal syndrome was evaluated. 298 participants were studied. 67.8% were male and 74.2% were married. The mean age of participants was 38.5 +/- 11 years. At the end of the course 45% were successful in smoking cessation. The mean score of craving in successful and unsuccessful participants was 4.6 +/- 3.7 and 8 +/- 3, respectively [p<0.001]. The mean score of restlessness in successful and unsuccessful participants was 3.8_3.2 and 6.2 +/- 3.9, respectively [p=0.003]. The mean score of anxiety among successful and unsuccessful participants was 3.4 +/- 3.2 and 5.4 +/- 3.6, respectively [p=0.01]. There was statistical relation between intensity of some of nicotine withdrawal symptoms [anxiety, restlessness, and craving] with successful cessation. So implementation of special treatment for these signs and symptoms is valuable in smoking cessation program