Tobacco in Adolescence: Importance to Knowledge the Health Hazards and Preventive Measures

Abstract

Objective: To contribute to the development of prevention tools by identifying the pattern of tobacco use, knowledge about tobacco-related diseases and media tools that are popular among adolescents. Material and Method:In a cross-sectional study, sixty adolescents (41.7% smokers, 28.3% ex-smokers and 30% never smokers) attending the secondary level of a public school (Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil) were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was applied to all subjects. The Fagerström score and motivation to give up smoking (Prochaska e DiClemente) were evaluated in smokers.Results: The mean age was 15.8 ± 1.1 years old, and 65% were female. Among the smokers, 60% were girls and among ex-smokers, 59%. A high proportion of smokers and ex-smokers had used alternative forms of tobacco such as narghile (52.4%) and flavored cigarettes (54.8%). A very low proportion of the adolescents associated smoking with cardiovascular disease (1.7%), neurological problems (1.7%), heart disease (5%), dental problems (5%), skin aging (5%) and even cancer (36.7%). The majority of smokers (96%) and ex-smokers (88.2%) had low nicotine dependence, 76.1% of them did not consider themselves addicted to nicotine and stated that they could stop whenever they wanted. Internet accessed by computer was the favorite media tool for 58.3% of the adolescents. Conclusions:Use of alternative forms of smoking is high, and the knowledge about the consequences of any tobacco consumption is very poor and sometimes misleading among adolescents. Our data indicate that personalized internet tools should be developed to gain the interest of adolescents in smoking prevention and cessation.

Subjective knowledge of Brazilian adolescent students about the health effects of smoking: association with smoking status / Conhecimento subjetivo dos estudantes adolescentes brasileiros sobre os efeitos do fumo na saúde: associação com o status de fumante

“…High rates of low SK were observed, especially about the effects on oral health and the second-hand effects, indicating possibilities for improvements. These findings agree with several previous studies that observed low levels of knowledge on the harms of smoking among adolescents using objective measurements [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] .…”

“…Many adolescents may not be aware that smoking is harmful for their health [4][5][6][7][8][9] , especially regarding second-hand smoking [10][11][12][13] and oral health effects 14 . A lack of knowledge about the hazards of smoking has been described as a predictor of smoking status 13,[15][16][17][18] and susceptibility to smoking [19][20][21] in this population group.…”

Perceived social benefits versus perceived harms of smoking among Indonesian boys aged 12–16 years: A secondary analysis of Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2014

“…Subramaniam et al 31 found in Singapore, which neighbours Indonesia, that some adolescents believed smoking has adverse health outcomes but at the same time minimised the risk of adverse health outcomes. Even though studies have indicated that lack of knowledge about the harm of tobacco is an important factor for smoking among adolescents 32 , findings of this study indicate a further need to address issues of the perceived social benefits of smoking. The reduced desire to quit and increased susceptibility to smoking in the future with higher perceived social benefits, further highlight its importance.…”