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24.Peer Pressure and Tobacco Use Among Adolescents in Urban Slums
Sundas Hamna1, Musarrat Jahan2 and Wajahat Hussain1
ABSTRACT
Objective: To find out frequency of tobacco use and effect of peer pressure on tobacco use among adolescents.
Study Design: A cross sectional analytical study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Community Medicine Department of Quid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur from January 2023 to June 2023.
Materials and Methods: Total 237 adolescents from urban slums of Bahawalpur City who were willing to participate in the study were taken by non-probability purposive sampling method. Using a pre-formed questionnaire with two components, data was gathered. Age and school was among the demographic variables in Part I, whereas smoking, smoking type and duration, reasons for smoking, and whether or not friends smoke are among the research variables in Part II. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 22. Post stratification chi square test was used to see any statistically significant difference between groups and p value less than 0.05 was taken as significant.
Results: Majority of the adolescents in study (73%) are abstaining from Tobacco use. Frequency of the tobacco use the adolescents showed that 55.6% of the adolescents using tobacco substances are from public sector schools. The tobacco use among study participants was significantly associated with peer pressure (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: The tobacco use frequency is higher among adolescents in public sector schools and peer pressure is significantly associated with tobacco use.
Key Words: Peers, Adolescents, Smoking, Urban Slums.