KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PREVALENCE OF CIGARETTE SMOKING AMONG PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Cigarette smoking constitutes a major threat to the health and wellbeing of teenagers. Anecdotal reports gleaned from concurrent field work activities shows that the practice is on the increase among in-school adolescents in Ibadan North Local Government Area (IBNLGA). However, information relating to the knowledge and smoking behaviour among these secondary school students in IBNLGA has not been systemically documented. This study was therefore designed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and prevalence of cigarette smoking among public secondary school students in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo state (IBNLGA), Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study design targeted at 349 secondary school students selected from seven public secondary schools in IBNLGA using athree-stage sampling method. A pre tested, semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection on the socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge on the dangers of cigarette smoking, factors influencing smoking behaviour among secondary school students, prevalence as well as attitude of the students towards cigarette smoking. Knowledge of students was assessed using a 16-point scale and scores were categorised as good (≥8) points and poor (<8) points while attitude of students towards cigarette smoking was assessed using a 12-point scale and scores were categorised as positive (≥6) points and negative (<6) points. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance. The mean age of the respondents was 14.7±2.4years, 61.9% were Males, 64.5% were Christian and 53.9% were15-19 years. Majority (72.8%) of the respondents had good knowledge. Most (95.1%) of the respondents perceived cigarette smoking to be dangerous to their health while 67.9% of respondents correctly mentioned nicotine as a constituent to a cigarette. Eighty-five percent (84.5%) of the respondents had positive attitude towards cigarette smoking. Many (48.7%) of the respondents were influenced by their peers to indulge in smoking while 59.9% of the respondents were influenced by their parents’ smoking behaviour. The prevalence of cigarette smoking among ever smoked was 32.1%; most (97.3%) of theever smokers were current smokers. More male students (83.9%) smoked cigarette compared to female students (16.1%). Self-reported prevalence of cigarette smoking was higher among respondents aged 13-15 years. There was a significant difference in respondents’ knowledge on the dangers of cigarette smoking and area of residence, family type and family size. Similarly, there was a significant difference between the age of the respondents and their attitude towards cigarette smoking. In addition, there was a significant difference between the sex, age, area of residence, mother’s level of education, family size of respondents and prevalence of cigarette smoking among respondents. The prevalence of cigarette smoking was low among public secondary school students in Ibadan North Local Government Area. The student had good knowledge on the harmful effects of smoking and a positive attitude against cigarette smoking. Peer and parental influence were the major determinant of the behaviour. Peer education, school based enlightening activities and other co-curriculum performances are needed to discourage the in school adolescents who still engage in cigarette smoking.