title: Knowledge, attitude and practice of tobacco use and its impact on oral health status of 12 and 15 year-old school children of Chhattisgarh, India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tobacco is a leading preventable cause of deaths worldwide; the situation is particularly serious in the developing countries. Tobacco use amongst the children and adolescents is already a pandemic and they are vulnerable targets of tobacco industry. This is also the case in India.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  1) Document and monitor the prevalence of tobacco use including smoked, smokeless and other forms of tobacco; 2) Understand studentknowledge and attitudes related to tobacco use and its health impact; 3) Assess the impact of tobacco on the oral health status of school-going children in India.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample was 1,500 school children of the age group 12-15 years age. A pretested, close ended questionnaire was administered in the form of extensive face to face interview to understand student knowledge, attitudes and behavior related to tobacco use and its health impact and to assess the prevalence of tobacco use including smoked, smokeless and other forms of tobacco. Oral health status was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Frequency distribution, Chi-square tests and Odd's ratio was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prevalence of tobacco usage amongst the prevalence was 20.4%: 9.2% reported smoking, 15.8% used tobacco in the chewable form and 25.3% children were involved in consuming betel nut/areca nuts. The OR (Odd's ratio) for calculus formation was highest for guthka chewers (OR=14.322), paan masala chewers had the highest odds of developing bleeding on probing when compared to the others.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is an urgent need to launch school-based tobacco prevention programs for community awareness of children and the public, as preventing the initiation of a habit is far easier than stopping it.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Dentistry, Rungta College of Dental Sciences and Research , Bhili, India E-mail : dr.ramtiwarirjn@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ram Vinod
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.forename: Jayachandra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Megalamanegowdru
authors.forename: Anjali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Ankush
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agrawal
authors.forename: Abhinav
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parakh
authors.forename: Sulabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pagaria
authors.forename: Abhishek
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sahu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001114:Areca; D002648:Child; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D010512:Periodontal Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D064424:Tobacco Use / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology