Second hand smoke: awareness and acceptability among school going adolescents In India

Background Exposure to second hand smoke among school going adolescents is a public health problem and is associated with higher prevalence of tobacco use. It is important to understand the possible sources and the attitude among adolescents which increases the risk of such exposure. Objectives: To assess exposure and attitude of school going adolescents towards second hand smoke (SHS). Methods Cross-sectional survey of school going adolescents from class VII to XII was conducted for a school in India which is supported by para- military forces to ensure quality education to children of para-military personnel's. Simple random sampling was used to select single section from classes VII to XII and data was collected for all students in selected section using Global Youth Tobacco Scale (GYTS). Results Exposure to second hand smoke in past one week inside home was found to be 45% and in public places 76.6%. Majority participants (50.3%) reported smoking by one or more close friends. Though smoking from other people was reported to be harmful ( 89% ) and discussion about harmful effects of smoking is carried out by school authorities (73.2%) and families (75.9%) of adolescents yet attitude towards SHS among adolescents is favorable and is considered helpful in enhancing socialization among boys (73.10%) and making personality attractive among girls. Conclusions Second hand smoking either due to exposure in home or outside home is substantially high in school adolescent in India. Strategies designed to reduce smoking among school adolescents need to specially target positive image associated with smokers