Tobacco Induced Diseases (Dec 2022)

Awareness of hazards due to tobacco among people aged 15 years and older in Chongqing, China, in 2020: A cross-sectional analysis

  • Qiu Chen,
  • Jia Nan Dai,
  • Xiao Dan Chen,
  • Tian Qin,
  • Wei Yun Lai,
  • Yang Wang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18332/tid/155933
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20, no. December
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Introduction Tobacco smoke contains a large number of harmful substances and carcinogens. Smoking and secondhand smoke cause a variety of cancers and diseases, seriously endangering human health. However, the status and characteristics of the awareness of hazards due to tobacco among people aged ≥15 years in Chongqing, China, are still unknown. Methods A multistage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select ten districts and counties in Chongqing, China, and a total of 6622 people were investigated between August and October 2020. The chi-squared test was used to analyze the awareness of hazards due to tobacco in various populations after the data had been cleaned and weighted. Results In 2020, the awareness rates of people aged ≥15 years in Chongqing, China, about a specific disease caused by smoking were lung cancer (77.1%), heart disease (45.1%), stroke (40.1%), and penile erectile dysfunction (24.2%). However, only 22.1% of the respondents knew that smoking could simultaneously lead to all four diseases mentioned above. Adult lung cancer was the disease with the highest awareness rating (72.5%), followed by children’s lung disease (54.2%) and adult heart disease (46.1%). A total of 42.0% of respondents knew that secondhand smoke could cause the three diseases simultaneously. Only 22.0% of those correctly understood the harm of low-tar cigarettes. The logistic regression results showed that education level and occupation were risk factors for lack of awareness of hazards due to tobacco. In contrast, media campaigns on tobacco control were a protective factor. Conclusions The awareness of hazards due to tobacco among people aged ≥15 years in Chongqing, China, still needs to be improved. More graphic health warning labels and mass media campaigns about the hazards of tobacco should be carried out to raise people’s awareness and warn about the health risks of smoking.

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