. Akshatha Gadiyar; . Anil Ankola; . Ladusingh Rajpurohit
Volume 8, Issue 7 , July 2018, , Pages 1-6
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has everfaced. Tobacco use is a significant public health problem worldwide and the single‑most ...
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INTRODUCTION: Tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has everfaced. Tobacco use is a significant public health problem worldwide and the single‑most preventablerisk of human health. Mass media anti‑tobacco advertisements can reach large sections of the societyand increase awareness about the harms of tobacco use and increase quit attempts.METHODOLOGY: This cross‑sectional study was conducted to find out the awareness of anti‑tobaccoadvertisements and to assess the influence of anti‑tobacco advertisements among 16 to 18‑year‑oldstudents in Belgaum city. A self‑structured, close‑ended, 26‑item questionnaire was distributed to 600preuniversity students. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic data, tobacco usage status,questions related to awareness about anti‑tobacco advertisements, and influence of anti‑tobaccoadvertisements on attitude toward tobacco use. Frequency distributions and percentages wereexamined for each item and Chi‑square test was used.RESULTS: Majority of the study participants (89.4% males and 86.7% females) were aware of theanti‑tobacco advertisements. Television and movie theaters were considered as the most effectivemeans for anti‑tobacco advertisements. Nearly 90.8% had noticed the statutory warning which isshown during tobacco products’ usage on television/movies. Almost 78.35% of males and 90.6%of females had a positive change in attitude toward tobacco use due to influence of anti‑tobaccoadvertisements.CONCLUSION: There is an increased awareness on anti‑tobacco and this has been proved to beeffective in motivating them to quit tobacco as well as stop them from initiating tobacco use.