title: Illiteracy, ignorance, and willingness to quit smoking among villagers in India.
abstract: During the field work to control oral cancer, difficulty in communication was encountered with illiterates. A study to define the role of illiteracy, ignorance and willingness to quit smoking among the villagers was undertaken in a rural area surrounding Doddipatla Village, A.P., India. Out of a total population of 3,550, 272 (7.7%) persons, mostly in the age range of 21-50 years, attended a cancer detection camp. There were 173 (63.6%) females and 99 (36.4%) males, among whom 66 (M53 + F13) were smokers; 36.4% of males and 63% of females were illiterate. Among the illiterates, it was observed that smoking rate was high (56%) and 47.7% were ignorant of health effects of smoking. The attitude of illiterate smokers was encouraging, as 83.6% were willing to quit smoking. Further research is necessary to design health education material for 413.5 million illiterates living in India (1991 Indian Census). A community health worker, trained in the use of mass media coupled with a person-to-person approach, may help the smoker to quit smoking.
authors.affiliation: Lions Cancer Treatment & Research Center, Visakhapatnam, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gavarasana
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Gorty
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012907:Smoking; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*