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Snuff Usage and Knowledge Regarding Its Effects Among Pakistani Male Students of Public Medical University, Peshawar

Received: 14 March 2023     Accepted: 12 May 2023     Published: 31 May 2023
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Abstract

In Pakistan, snuff, locally known as Naswar, was introduced decades ago, and is usually processed into a loose moist form, and its use is widespread in the country. The evaluation of carcinogenic risks of smokeless tobacco by the International Agency on Research for Cancer (IARC) has confirmed that smokeless tobacco is carcinogenic to human and the main target organ being the oral cavity where the products are applied locally. So, this study is done about snuff usage and knowledge regarding its effects among Pakistani Male Students in Khyber Medical University, Peshawar. Descriptive cross sectional institutional based study with sample size of 400 was done from 5251 the study population (Pakistanis male students at the Khyber Medical University, Peshawar) during the academic year 2018-2020, in which random sampling technique was used. Data was collected using self-administrated questionnaire. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) (IBM v. 25). The overall knowledge level was very high within non-snuff dippers i.e., 92%, which was very high according to Likert measure, whereas the knowledge level among snuff dippers was (76.4%) which was also high. The prevalence of snuff usage among Pakistani male students was 174 (43.5%) n = 400. The greatest predisposing factor was the friend’s effect (81.5%), whereas the least predisposing factor was the advertisement effect (23.8%). There was a significant relationship between knowledge level and snuff usage. In conclusion, snuff usage prevalence among students was high, the overall knowledge level was very high, effect of friends was the most common risk factor for snuff usage, so there is an urgent need for intervention by providing tobacco prevention program for raising awareness regarding to the health hazards of tobacco use and counselling to help and encourage users for cessation and to prevent tobacco initiation.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 11, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14
Page(s) 76-84
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Naswar, Smokeless Tobacco, University Students, Carcinogens, Knowledge, Perception

References
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[2] Muthukrishnan, Arvind, and Saman Warnakulasuriya. 2018. "Oral health consequences of smokeless tobacco use." The Indian journal of medical research 148: 35. Doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1793_17
[3] Mishu, Masuma Pervin et al. 2021. “Predictors of Cigarette Smoking, Smokeless Tobacco Consumption, and Use of Both Forms in Adolescents in South Asia: A Secondary Analysis of the Global Youth Tobacco Surveys.” Nicotine and tobacco research 23 (6): 956–65. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa202
[4] Sreeramareddy, Chandrashekhar T, Pranil Man Singh Pradhan, Imtiyaz Ali Mir, and Shwe Sin. 2014. “Smoking and Smokeless Tobacco Use in Nine South and Southeast Asian Countries: Prevalence Estimates and Social Determinants from Demographic and Health Surveys.” Population health metrics 12: 1–16. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-014-0022-0.
[5] Keith, Hau, Olsheski Kathryn, Katwala Priya, and Wiley Rashidah. 2017. “Oral and Systemic Effects of Smokeless Tobacco from the African, Asian, Latin American, European, and Middle Eastern Regions.” Journal of Dental and Oral Health 6: 2.
[6] Ahmmed, Hatim Rahamt Alla Mohammed, Somiya Gutbi, and Najm Eldinn Elsser Elhassan. 2015. “The Epidemic of Tobacco Use among the Students of University of Bahri–Khartoum–Sudan-2014.” Prevalence 20: 9.
[7] Khan, Zohaib. 2016. “A Gaping Gap (Smokeless Tobacco Control in Pakistan).” Tobacco induced diseases 14 (1): 36. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12971-016-0102-y.
[8] Salieh, M., S. Bashir, H. K. Elmouse, D. A. Enarson, N. Mustafa, Z. Dahab, and A. Elsony. "Participating in global tobacco research: the experience of a low-income country, Sudan." Paris, France: international union against tuberculosis and lung disease (2009).
[9] Alam, Ali Yawar et al. 2008. “Investigating Socio-Economic-Demographic Determinants of Tobacco Use in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.” BMC Public Health 8: 1–9. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-50
[10] Onoh, Ikenna et al. 2021. “Prevalence, Patterns and Correlates of Smokeless Tobacco Use in Nigerian Adults: An Analysis of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey.” Plos one 16 (1): e0245114. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245114
[11] Imam, Sardar Z et al. 2007. “Use of Smokeless Tobacco among Groups of Pakistani Medical Students – a Cross Sectional Study.” BMC Public Health 7 (1): 231. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-7-231.
[12] Sarkar, Amrita, Debjit Roy, and Arvind Nongpiur. 2019. “A Population-Based Study on Tobacco Consumption in Urban Slums: Its Prevalence, Pattern, and Determinants.” Journal of family medicine and primary care 8 (3): 892. Doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_42_19.
[13] Hussain, C Althaf, H I Saba, Arun Gopi, and G Subramanyam. 2016. “Tobacco Prevalence and Usage Pattern among Bengaluru Urban Slum Dwellers.” International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health 3: 432–36. Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20160426
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Muhammad Ans, Sameen Abbas, Kashif Ali, Anosh Sana, Sara Shahid, et al. (2023). Snuff Usage and Knowledge Regarding Its Effects Among Pakistani Male Students of Public Medical University, Peshawar. Science Journal of Public Health, 11(3), 76-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14

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    ACS Style

    Muhammad Ans; Sameen Abbas; Kashif Ali; Anosh Sana; Sara Shahid, et al. Snuff Usage and Knowledge Regarding Its Effects Among Pakistani Male Students of Public Medical University, Peshawar. Sci. J. Public Health 2023, 11(3), 76-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14

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    AMA Style

    Muhammad Ans, Sameen Abbas, Kashif Ali, Anosh Sana, Sara Shahid, et al. Snuff Usage and Knowledge Regarding Its Effects Among Pakistani Male Students of Public Medical University, Peshawar. Sci J Public Health. 2023;11(3):76-84. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14,
      author = {Muhammad Ans and Sameen Abbas and Kashif Ali and Anosh Sana and Sara Shahid and Asima Bibi},
      title = {Snuff Usage and Knowledge Regarding Its Effects Among Pakistani Male Students of Public Medical University, Peshawar},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {11},
      number = {3},
      pages = {76-84},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20231103.14},
      abstract = {In Pakistan, snuff, locally known as Naswar, was introduced decades ago, and is usually processed into a loose moist form, and its use is widespread in the country. The evaluation of carcinogenic risks of smokeless tobacco by the International Agency on Research for Cancer (IARC) has confirmed that smokeless tobacco is carcinogenic to human and the main target organ being the oral cavity where the products are applied locally. So, this study is done about snuff usage and knowledge regarding its effects among Pakistani Male Students in Khyber Medical University, Peshawar. Descriptive cross sectional institutional based study with sample size of 400 was done from 5251 the study population (Pakistanis male students at the Khyber Medical University, Peshawar) during the academic year 2018-2020, in which random sampling technique was used. Data was collected using self-administrated questionnaire. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) (IBM v. 25). The overall knowledge level was very high within non-snuff dippers i.e., 92%, which was very high according to Likert measure, whereas the knowledge level among snuff dippers was (76.4%) which was also high. The prevalence of snuff usage among Pakistani male students was 174 (43.5%) n = 400. The greatest predisposing factor was the friend’s effect (81.5%), whereas the least predisposing factor was the advertisement effect (23.8%). There was a significant relationship between knowledge level and snuff usage. In conclusion, snuff usage prevalence among students was high, the overall knowledge level was very high, effect of friends was the most common risk factor for snuff usage, so there is an urgent need for intervention by providing tobacco prevention program for raising awareness regarding to the health hazards of tobacco use and counselling to help and encourage users for cessation and to prevent tobacco initiation.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Snuff Usage and Knowledge Regarding Its Effects Among Pakistani Male Students of Public Medical University, Peshawar
    AU  - Muhammad Ans
    AU  - Sameen Abbas
    AU  - Kashif Ali
    AU  - Anosh Sana
    AU  - Sara Shahid
    AU  - Asima Bibi
    Y1  - 2023/05/31
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 76
    EP  - 84
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20231103.14
    AB  - In Pakistan, snuff, locally known as Naswar, was introduced decades ago, and is usually processed into a loose moist form, and its use is widespread in the country. The evaluation of carcinogenic risks of smokeless tobacco by the International Agency on Research for Cancer (IARC) has confirmed that smokeless tobacco is carcinogenic to human and the main target organ being the oral cavity where the products are applied locally. So, this study is done about snuff usage and knowledge regarding its effects among Pakistani Male Students in Khyber Medical University, Peshawar. Descriptive cross sectional institutional based study with sample size of 400 was done from 5251 the study population (Pakistanis male students at the Khyber Medical University, Peshawar) during the academic year 2018-2020, in which random sampling technique was used. Data was collected using self-administrated questionnaire. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) (IBM v. 25). The overall knowledge level was very high within non-snuff dippers i.e., 92%, which was very high according to Likert measure, whereas the knowledge level among snuff dippers was (76.4%) which was also high. The prevalence of snuff usage among Pakistani male students was 174 (43.5%) n = 400. The greatest predisposing factor was the friend’s effect (81.5%), whereas the least predisposing factor was the advertisement effect (23.8%). There was a significant relationship between knowledge level and snuff usage. In conclusion, snuff usage prevalence among students was high, the overall knowledge level was very high, effect of friends was the most common risk factor for snuff usage, so there is an urgent need for intervention by providing tobacco prevention program for raising awareness regarding to the health hazards of tobacco use and counselling to help and encourage users for cessation and to prevent tobacco initiation.
    VL  - 11
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan

  • Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Institute of Public Health and Social Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan

  • Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

  • Department of Pharmacy Practice, Lahore Pharmacy College, Lahore Medical & Dental College, Lahore, Pakistan

  • Department of Pharmacy, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

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