Prevalence and determinants of tobacco use in a highly literate rural community in southern India.
BACKGROUND
The adverse effects of tobacco use on the health of an individual are well known. It is essential to identify factors leading to tobacco use to plan strategies to limit its use. Education is known to influence the prevalence of tobacco use. We aimed to determine the prevalence and patterns of tobacco use in a rural community with a high literacy rate and to examine the socioeconomic and demographic correlates of tobacco consumption in the area.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey using personal interviews was carried out on 832 individuals > 15 years of age. The prevalence of current daily use of tobacco was used as the outcome measure. The main analytical methods used were chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis.


RESULTS
The prevalence of tobacco use was 17.5%, being common among older persons, the lower socioeconomic group and those who were less educated. Tobacco was used predominantly in smokeless forms (chewing, snuff or both). The commonest reason cited for initiating tobacco use was to relieve toothache.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings in this rural community suggest that improvement in the educational and socioeconomic status may lead to a decline in the use of tobacco. Health education to improve dental hygiene may also help to reduce tobacco use in this community as it is predominantly used in the chewing form.
Daniel
Anjali B
AB
Department of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India. anjali.daniel@manipal.edu
Nagaraj
K
K
Kamath
Ramachandra
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014030:Tobacco, Smokeless