Prevalence of Tobacco Use in Group C and D Employees in a Medical College of Delhi

Abstract

One in three adults worldwide smokes tobacco and smoking is characterized by chemical dependence which falls into a model of chronic disease. Consumption of tobacco is a public health problem, which involves all age groups and all strata of people. This study aims to find out the prevalence of tobacco use and smoking and nicotine dependence among Group C and D employees of a medical college. We carried out a cross sectional study among 115 Group C and D employees of a Medical College, New Delhi, using predesigned and pretested questionnaire to describe the tobacco consumption and the Fagerstrom test to screen the patients with nicotine dependence. The data were collected and analyzed using EPI- INFO 3.5.1 version. Results showed that the prevalence of tobacco use in Groups C & D was 38% with significant male preponderance and out of these daily user group accounts for 28.7%. Prevalence of tobacco use was significantly higher in Group D being 51% as compared to 24% in Group C. Very high nicotine dependency was seen in age group 31 40 years, which was 57.1%. Around 58% of employees with middle school education were tobacco users and as education level increased, the proportion of tobacco users declined. With rising income level, the tobacco use decreased. To conclude, tobacco use among Group C and D workers in a medical college is high and the major concern is nicotine dependence. This also highlights the need of an educational package to decrease the use of tobacco and motivation for accepting treatment for nicotine dependence.

Keywords: Tobacco use, smoking prevalence, nicotine dependence