Community Medicine Abstracts - College of Medicine and Health ...

Project No. 186 (D-2002/3)Attitude & Knowledge of High School Girls Towards Smoking in Al Ain CityStudent Authors: Shatha Mohd Abdullah Saif Al-Suwaidi, Jamila Saif Ghumail SaeedAl-Ketbi, Kulaithem Saif M.R. Al-MazroueiFaculty Supervisors: Dr. A. Carter, Dr. M. Newson-SmithAbstract:Objectives To assess the attitude and knowledge of high school girls towards smokingin Al Ain city as a guide to more effective control measures..Methods A cross-sectional survey, 2002. Sampling was multistage, with 4 out of 8governmental Arabic high schools randomly selected in Al Ain City, followed by 3 tenthgrade classes from each school. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 18structured questions was distributed to students for assessing attitudes, knowledge,and opinions about prevention of smoking. The study population included 360 femalestudents 242 Emiratis and 115 other Arabs. Data analysis was done using SPSS. Theanalysis included frequencies, cross tabulations, stratification of confounding variables,and use of chi square for assessing significance.Results 52% of our subjects had a smoker in their families, 26% of subjects had afather who smoked. There was no difference in the overall prevalence of smokingbetween Emiratis and other Arabs. Attitude: 50% of girls with a smoker in theirfamilies tended to perceive a smoker as someone lacking confidence, whereas 52% ofgirls from non smoking families perceived smokers as losers (p=0.01). 61% of girlswho had no smokers in their families said they would refuse a smoker as a futurehusband, as compared with 38% of girls from smoking families (p=0.000).Knowledge: 50% of girls had received almost no education about smoking in schools.Only 53% of girls were aware that smoking is addictive. Only 15% felt that it isextremely difficult to stop smoking. Nearly all girls knew that smoking causes lungand heart disease and lung cancer. However, 60% did not know that smoking causesother cancers, and 70% didn’t know that passive smoking causes health problems forchildren, including ear and chest infections and asthma.Conclusion We recommend development of appropriate regulations for the sale andadvertisement of cigarettes as a dangerous and addictive drug, to increase taxes oncigarettes and to prohibit advertising of cigarettes in all public places and media,especially where seen by children and the youth. There should be a ban on cigarettesales to young people of less than 21 years of age. We also recommend increasingeducational activities for children, youth, and parents in schools and in the mediaabout addictiveness and specific health effects of smoking. Students need to betaught how to deal with peer pressure. Finally, we recommend training all medicaland nursing students in all health effects of smoking and in management of smokingcessation.