Prevalence of dokha use among secondary school students in Ajman UAE

ABSTRACT

Dokha is a form of smoking native to UAE on which there is very little published literature especially among adolescents and this form of smoking has been not been addressed adequately in the smoking cessation strategies in UAE Micro To assess the prevalence of dokha smoking among male secondary school students in Ajman UAE. A cross sectional survey was conducted by stratified random sampling among male secondary school students in Ajman, UAE. A total of 560 participants filled in self-administered questionnaires on dokha use The prevalence of ever smokers was 39%; ever dokha smokers was 36% and current dokha smokers was 24%. The prevalence is very high when compared to other forms of smoking in the region and globally. Prevalence increased with increasing age and grade of students, prevalence of ever smokers, ever dokha smokers and current dokha smokers was lower in students in the science stream. 40% of the smokers used dokha, cigarettes and shisha, 30% used dokha and cigarettes, and 21% used dokha alone. 30% of the students smoked dokha on all days of the month. The prevalence of ever smokers, ever dokha smokers and current dokha smokers is very high. There is an urgent need for specific health promotion programs tailored to this age group on prevention of dokha smoking and policies restricting the availability of dokha to this age group