Tobacco Use among Adolescents of a Public School of Kaski District

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco is one of the proven risk factors, contributes substantially to the rising epidemic of non-communicable diseases.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of tobacco use and associated factors among adolescents of a selected public School in Kaski district. Non-probability purposive sampling technique was adopted and data was collected with self-administered questionnaire from 168 respondents.

Results: The prevalence of tobacco-use was 19.6 percent and mean age of initiation was13.84 years. The most common reasons for smoking were peer pressure (63.3%), imitation (27.3%), family influence (27.3%) and quest for new experience (21.2%). Tobacco-use was strongly associated with ethnicity (p=0.03), mother's education level (p=0.02), father's occupation (p=0.03), peer pressure (p=0.01) and friends smoking habit (p=0.03).

Conclusion: Tobacco-focused interventions are required for school going adolescents to promote cessation among users and prevent its initiation.