Background: Smoking is practiced by a third of world’s
population . Tobacco is leading cause of deaths world over. Six million people (1/8 second) die from tobacco each year. Objective of this study was to study demographic profile and
awareness regarding
tobacco smoking among people of Rohilkhand, Bareilly.
Methods: Randomly selected individuals of Rohilkhand region.
Questionnaire method involved.
Results: Among 1040
sample size , 70% were
males with mean age of 37.68 years. 73.94%
population belonged to upper lower socio-economic class. 52% (62.9%
male and 26.6%
females ) were current
smokers of which 60.6% were exclusive beedi
smokers . 50% were unaware of oral and
lung cancer due to
smoking . 34% were unaware about effects of
passive smoking . 48.48%
smokers report cough with expectoration as commonest symptom. 60% finds
peer group influential for the
behavior . 76.9%
smokers are willing to quit
smoking . 63.4% are open for
counseling . 26% were unaware of ban/
law related to
smoking in public places. 68% believe there is increasing trend in
prevalence of its use, among
minors , educational
institutes and
hospitals .
Conclusions: Despite high
awareness of ill effects of
smoking , there is an increasing trend in
prevalence of
smoking with an increased involvement of
minors attributed to
peer pressure . People are unaware of
passive smoking and its harmful effect on body. Moreover, advertisements, visuals and captions have failed in making an impact. There occurs a need of
awareness programmes, intervention sessions, medical
therapy and strict anti-
smoking laws by the
government ,
social welfare and
healthcare volunteers to help people quit and control the menace in society.