The status of smokeless tobacco use and its ssociated factors among thebusiness guilds population of Chabahar

Background: Smokeless tobacco consumption causes cancer in various parts of the human body,including respiratory organs, reproductive system, urinary system, increased risk of cardiovasculardiseases, depression, premature birth, low birth weight, anemia, congenital iron deficiency(anemia) and infertility. This study aimed to investigate the status of smokeless tobacco use and itsassociated factors among the business guilds population of Chabahar city, Iran.Materials and Methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on ۳۲۰ usersof various types of Smokeless Tobacco selected by simple random sampling method. Data werecollected using a researcher-made demographic questionnaire, Smokeless Tobacco inventory,Attitude questionnaire, and Behavior questionnaire. The validity and reliability of these tools wereconfirmed in the previous studies. Data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive (mean, standarddeviation, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (Kruskal-Wallis and Exact Fishertest).Results: Most of the participants used Gutka and Pan-Parag (۲۴%, ۹۵% CI= ۲۸.۷-۱۹.۴ and ۲۳%,۹۵% CI= ۲۷.۷-۱۸.۵, respectively). The mean scores (standard deviations) of the participants'knowledge and attitude were ۷.۷۱ (۲.۵۹) and ۲۲.۳۴ (۷.۶۰), respectively. The results of Bivariateanalysis indicated no significant difference among different Smokeless Tobacco groups regardingthe Attitude scores (P = ۰.۱۰۴). A significant association was observed among different groups ofSmokeless Tobacco regarding the Behavioral scores (P = ۰.۰۰۷).Conclusion: The scores of Attitude and Behavior were significantly low among the businessguilds population of Chabahar city regarding consumption of Smokeless Tobacco. Therefore,effective steps should be taken urgently on launching social awareness programs to educate peopleabout the consequences of tobacco use and on assessing their effectiveness in curbing the problem.

کلیدواژه ها:

Business Guilds ، Gutkah ، Naswar ، Pan ، Pan-Parag ، Smokeless Tobacco