title: Knowledge of the health consequences of tobacco smoking: a cross-sectional survey of Vietnamese adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although substantial efforts have been made to curtail smoking in Vietnam, the 2010 Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) revealed that the proportion of male adults currently smoking remains high at 47.4%.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the level of, and characteristics associated with, knowledge of the health consequences of smoking among Vietnamese adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  GATS 2010 was designed to survey a nationally representative sample of Vietnamese men and women aged 15 and older drawn from 11,142 households using a two-stage sampling design. Descriptive statistics were calculated and multivariate logistic regression was used to examine associations between postulated exposure factors (age, education, access to information, ethnic group etc.) and knowledge on health risks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  General knowledge on the health risks of active smoking (AS) and exposure to second hand smoke (SHS) was good (90% and 83%, respectively). However, knowledge on specific diseases related to tobacco smoking (stroke, heart attack, and lung cancer) appeared to be lower (51.5%). Non-smokers had a significantly higher likelihood of demonstrating better knowledge on health risks related to AS (OR 1.6) and SHS (OR 1.7) than smokers. Adults with secondary education, college education or above also had significantly higher levels knowledge of AS/SHS health risks than those with primary education (AS: ORs 1.6, 1.7, and 1.9, respectively, and SHS: ORs 2.4, 3.9, and 5.7 respectively). Increasing age was positively associated with knowledge of the health consequences of SHS, and access to information was significantly associated with knowledge of AS/SHS health risks (ORs 2.3 and 1.9 respectively). Otherwise, non-Kinh ethnic groups had significantly less knowledge on health risks of AS/SHS than Kinh ethnic groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It may be necessary to target tobacco prevention programs to specific subgroups including current smokers, adults with low education, non-Kinh ethnics in order to increase their knowledge on health risks of smoking. Comprehensive messages and/or images about specific diseases related to AS/SHS should be conveyed using of different channels and modes specific to local cultures to increase knowledge on smoking health consequences for general population.
authors: Department of Epidemiology, Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam. daothiminhan@yahoo.com
authors: Dao Thi
authors: DT
authors: Minh An
authors: Hoang
authors: H
authors: Van Minh
authors: Le Thi
authors: le T
authors: Huong
authors: Kim Bao
authors: KB
authors: Giang
authors: Le Thi Thanh
authors: le TT
authors: Xuan
authors: Phan Thi
authors: PT
authors: Hai
authors: Pham
authors: P
authors: Quynh Nga
authors: Jason
authors: J
authors: Hsia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Vietnam; global adult tobacco survey; health consequences; knowledge; smoking
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