Prevalence, Habit Pattern, and Awareness on Harmful Effects of Tobacco/Areca Nut Use among Patients Visiting a Tertiary Care Center in Sri Lanka
Open Access
- 2 March 2023
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Georg Thieme Verlag KG in South Asian Journal of Cancer
Abstract
Background The carcinogenicity of tobacco and areca nut is well established worldwide. Areca nut is the fourth most common psychoactive substance identified recently. The effects of areca nut on the autonomic nervous system make the users dependent on the habit which has been an emerging health issue among Sri Lankan adults and adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and patterns of these risk habits among the patients attending a tertiary care center in Sri Lanka, and their awareness of the harmful effects of the habit. Method A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 512 patients using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Results The sample consisted of 167 (33%) tobacco consumers. The average age of the initiation of tobacco consumption was 23.66 years (standard deviation ± 8.04). Age (p = 0.001), gender (p = 0.001), income (p = 0.005), and educational level (p = 0.001) are significantly associated with tobacco consumption. There is a strong likelihood for tobacco consumers to consume areca nut (odds ratio [OR] 30.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] 17.05–54.88) and alcohol (OR 11.16, 95% CI 6.91–17.98) at any stage in their lives. The majority of the tobacco consumers (61%) were smokeless tobacco users. Areca nut consumers are 0.44 times more likely to know its carcinogenic effects than nonconsumers (95% CI 0.28–0.69). Tobacco consumers are more likely to be aware of the harmful effects of tobacco consumption than nonconsumers (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.45–2.74). Sixty percent have made at least one attempt to quit the habit. Sixty-two percent of the unsuccessful quitters reported the reason as “addiction.” Conclusion Prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption prevails at a high level among Sri Lankans. Tobacco and areca nut users are more likely to be aware of its harmful effects than the nonconsumers but unable to quit the habit due to the psychoactive properties of tobacco and areca nut. This research has been granted ethical clearance from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Article published online: 02 March 2023 © 2023. MedIntel Services Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, IndiaKeywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Tobacco Use Among Southwestern Alaska Native PeopleNicotine & Tobacco Research, 2012
- Association of Betel Nut with Carcinogenesis: Revisit with a Clinical PerspectivePLOS ONE, 2012
- Prevalence of Betel Chewing Among Males in Colombo and Polonnaruwa DistrictsJournal of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka, 2011
- Factors affecting commencement and cessation of betel quid chewing behaviour in Malaysian adultsBMC Public Health, 2011
- Areca nut dependence among chewers in a South Indian community who do not also use tobaccoAddiction, 2010
- Comparing factors affecting commencement and cessation of betel quid chewing behavior in Taiwanese adultsBMC Public Health, 2008
- Global epidemiology of areca nut usageAddiction Biology, 2002
- Metabolic effects of the consumption of Areca catechuAddiction Biology, 2002
- A dependency syndrome related to areca nut use: some medical and psychological aspects among areca nut users in the Gujarat community in the UKAddiction Biology, 2000
- The Relation Between Cigarette Smoking and Sleep DisturbancePreventive Medicine, 1994