A STUDY TO ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PEER GROUP EDUCATION ON KNOWLEDGE REGARDING EFFECTS OF TOBACCO AMONG ADOLESCENT BOYS AT SELECTED URBAN AREAS OF INDORE M.P.

Abstract

Adolescents are the most vulnerable population to initiate tobacco use. It is now well established that most of the adult users of tobacco start tobacco use in childhood or adolescence. There has been a perceptible fall in smoking in the developed countries after realization of harmful effects of tobacco. The tobacco companies are now aggressively targeting their advertising strategies in the developing countries like India.

Smoking by youth and young adults can cause serious and potentially deadly health issues immediately and into adulthood. Nearly 70% of the world’s smokers live in low- and middle-income countries. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s smokers live in 10 countries, namely China, India, Indonesia, Russian Federation, the USA, Japan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Germany and Turkey.

Adolescents often get attracted to tobacco products because of such propaganda. There has been a rapid increase in trade and use of smokeless tobacco products in recent years in the country, which is a matter of serious concern to the health planners. It is important to understand various factors that influence and encourage young teenagers to start smoking or to use other tobacco products. The age at first use of tobacco has been reduced considerably. However, law enforcing agencies have also taken some punitive measures in recent years to curtail the use of tobacco products.