Assessment of awareness about pictorial warnings on tobacco products in tobacco users in paonta sahib, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract

Aim: This is a hospital-based questionnaire survey to investigate the awareness of the pictorial warnings on tobacco products among the residents of Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. Materials and Methods: A total of 840 tobacco user subjects were enrolled in the study. Data were collected by a self-designed, close-ended structured questionnaire which comprised 15 questions related to demographic details, knowledge about tobacco products, practices of tobacco habits, etc., Results: Most of the study participants (69.9%) were aware of statutory and pictorial warnings present on the tobacco products. Majority of the subjects (48.3%) said pictorial representation on the tobacco packets does not help them in refraining from intake of tobacco. Conclusion: The recently updated pictorial warnings are helpful to some extent but requires more strengthening to make pictorial health warnings easier to comprehend to assess the deleterious effects of tobacco by its consumers and general public.

Keywords

• Awareness
• knowledge
• smoking
• tobacco