Abstract
Background: Tobacco use is an emerging public health problem among adolescents worldwide. The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence and pattern of tobacco use among adolescents and assess the factors associated with its use in urban slums of Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in 11 randomly selected urban slums of Bhubaneswar during the year 2017–2018 among 297 adolescents using a pretested semi-structured schedule. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0; risk analysis was done using odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Ninety-one (30.6%) adolescents were current tobacco users; 40 (44%) were consuming smoking form and 67 (73.6%) smokeless form. Betel quid was the most predominant form of smokeless tobacco (35.8%) and the cigarette was the most common smoking form (55%) used. Only 16.5% of adolescents had tried to quit tobacco during the past year, whereas 65.9% showed a desire to quit tobacco in future. Multivariate analysis revealed that tobacco use was significantly associated with older age(adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 5.5; 95% CI: 2.8–10.6), male gender (aOR: 5.9; 95% CI: 2.9–12.0), employment (aOR: 7.4; 95% CI: 3.6–15.4), illiterate mother (aOR: 3.3; 95% CI: 1.7–6.3), tobacco use by family member (aOR: 3.7; 95% CI: 2.0–6.9), tobacco use by peers (aOR: 6.5; 95% CI: 2.9–14.3), and easy accessibility (aOR: 4.1; 95% CI: 1.5–11.2). Conclusion: The prevalence of tobacco use was high among adolescents of slums in Bhubaneswar. Existing schemes for controlling the tobacco epidemic among slum adolescents could be strengthened by incorporating these determinants.
Keywords
Adolescents - slums - smoked tobacco - smokeless tobacco - tobacco use
