Subject(s)
Accidents/statistics & numerical data , Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data , Injury Severity Score , Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Developing Countries , Explosive Agents/adverse effects , Female , Humans , Infant , Lebanon/epidemiology , Male , Suicide, Attempted/statistics & numerical dataABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and predictors of smoking nargileh and/or cigarettes among school students in Greater Beirut, Lebanon. METHODS: A proportionate random sample of 2443 students from 13 public and private schools was selected and asked to complete self-administered anonymous questionnaires. RESULTS: The prevalence of smoking cigarettes only, nargileh only, and both was 2.5%, 25.6%, and 6.3%, respectively. Stepwise regression analyses revealed that the predictors of smoking for either type are different, whereby nargileh smoking is more culturally accepted than cigarette smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Design interventions to increase awareness towards the hazards of the misconceived harmless effects of nargileh smoking.
Subject(s)
Cross-Cultural Comparison , Smoking/epidemiology , Students/statistics & numerical data , Tobacco Use Disorder/epidemiology , Adolescent , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Health Behavior , Health Surveys , Humans , Lebanon , Life Style , Male , Smoking/ethnology , Social Facilitation , Social Values , Surveys and Questionnaires , Tobacco Use Disorder/ethnologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Narghile is a resurging smoking device. However, little research has been done to assess passive smoking exposure. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the exposure of pre-school age children in Beirut to parental passive smoking from cigarette and/or narghile. METHODS: Data were collected from 1057 pre-school age children attending 16 day cares and 7 nursery schools in the city of Beirut. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of parental smoking (cigarette and/or narghile) was 53.3%. Ten per cent of respondents reported smoking only narghile. Fathers were significantly more likely than mothers to smoke cigarettes. However, there was no significant difference between fathers and mothers with respect to smoking narghile only. Education was a significant predictor for smoking cigarettes but not for smoking narghile. CONCLUSION: Narghile smoking appears to follow different gender and social patterns than cigarette smoking. Further research is needed to establish the determinants of narghile smoking, in order to develop adequate prevention policies.
