TOBACCO USE AND ITS CORRELATE FACTORS AMONG ADULT MALES IN RURAL AREA OF MEERUT-A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco use is one of the important preventable causes of death and a leading public health problem all over the world. According to WHO, tobacco is the second major cause of death worldwide and is currently responsible for about 5 million death each year. This figure is expected to rise to about 8.4 million by the year 2020 with 70% of deaths occurring in developing countries.Research questions: What is the magnitude of problem of tobacco users among adult males in rural area of Meerut?Objectives1. To study the prevalence of tobacco use2. To assess the correlate factors of tobacco use.Material and Methods: A community based cross sectional study was carried out among 393 randomly selected males aged 15-49 years belonging to Khajuri village which is the field practice area of Subharti Medical College. The data was recorded in pre-designed and semi-structured Questionnaire. Results: Over all prevalence of ‘Current users’ of tobacco product was 206 (52.4%) and ever users was 80 (20.4%).Among the current tobacco users most of the participants (49%) were using smoking form of tobacco (Cigarette, Bidi, Hukka) and 34.4% were using smokeless form of tobacco (Gutkha, Khaini) and 15.5% were using both. Conclusion: The tobacco use varied with locality, gender, age and by type of tobacco. It was significantly associated with various local socio-demographic factors like education, occupation, family type, socio-economic class and tobacco use in family or by the friends.The patterns of tobacco use different among tobacco users.