Tobacco Use Among Long Route Bus Drivers and Staffs of Dharan Eastern Nepal a KAP Study

Abstract

Tobacco use remains a major cause of preventable deaths worldwide. WHO estimated that about 25% of Nepalese population smokes. In Nepal it is widely believed that tobacco use among bus drivers and staffs is very high. This descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in Dharan bus station among 300 bus drivers and staffs who voluntarily responded with self-administered questionnaire to estimate the prevalence of tobacco consumption and to assess their knowledge, attitude and practice regarding tobacco use. Prevalence of tobacco consumption among the respondents was 96.3%. Tobacco initiation at the age <18 years was 52%. 'Peer pressure' and 'Influenced by family member(s)' were the reasons for initiation while 'Like the intoxicated feeling' (67.5%) and 'Feeling Mature' for continued use. Respondents (97%) claimed they knew about the injurious effect of tobacco use, diseases cited being respiratory, cancer and cardiac, but only 48.9% knew this before initiating its use. A 75.8% of tobacco consumers had tried to quit it due to 'Health issue' (65.3%) followed by 'Pressure from family member/s' and 'Economic burden'. Only about 20% were successful in quitting. The main reason for failure was feeling of addiction (69.7%). Among current tobacco users, 95% would like to seek medical help in quitting, if available. Our study concluded that the prevalence of tobacco consumption among bus drivers and staffs was very high. More than half started its use at age <18 years without prior knowledge of harmful effects of tobacco use. Majority would like to seek medical help as they have failed quitting it due to feeling of addiction. Targeted programs such as nicotine replacement clinics would be highly effective for them with desire to quit tobacco use with medical help.

Smokeless tobacco consumption among public and heavy load drivers in Karachi, Pakistan: A cross-sectional study

“…Preventive programs will only be effective if SLT users are willing to quit and cooperate with preventive strategies (Saroj et al, 2017;Kakde et al, 2012). Interestingly in this study, 377 participants (61.3%) reported that they had tried to quit because of emerging awareness and health concerns.…”

“…Since initiating our study in 2015, extensive search of the related literature has been conducted and accordingly very recent Nepalese study (Saroj et al, 2017) of bus drivers and their staff was identified, which serves as a stepping stone toward highlighting this neglected population. However, the results of that study could not be generalized, as the sample was limited by localization to a single bus station and lacked evidence to indicate occupational dependence.…”

Is occupation the “driving force” for tobacco consumption? A cross-sectional study to assess prevalence, patterns, and attitude towards tobacco use among long-distance bus drivers and conductors in Western Maharashtra

“…[ 8 ] However, the prevalence in the present study is lower than that seen in some other studies in India, it was 81.7% in a study conducted by Saroj et al . [ 7 ] and 93% by a study done by Goon and Bipasha. [ 13 ]…”

“…Health concern was the main reason (65.3%) among those who tried to quit TC according to a study done by Saroj et al . [ 7 ] The result of the study conducted by Echer et al . in 2011 also showed the same.…”

“…Long-distance bus drivers may belong to this category as observed in some studies in India. [ 7 8 9 10 ] Other occupations like construction workers have shown a high prevalence of tobacco use among the employees. [ 11 ] Further, a study in Kolkata on software engineers observed that 63% employees had multiple addictions like smoking and tobacco use in other forms.…”