• “Smoking a cigarette for the beginner is symbolic act. I am no longer my mother’s child, I am tough, I am an adventurer, I am not square. Whatever the individual talent, the act of smoking remains a symbolic declaration of personal identity. As the force of the psychological symbol subsides, the pharmacological effect takes over to sustain the habit.” - TOM OSDEN, New York Times.

• More than five million people under the age of 18 who are currently alive will die prematurely from a smoking related disease.

• In 1999, 1 in 10 deaths were due to smoking related diseases. It is estimated that by 2030 1 in 6 will die of the same.

• Time ticks away- every cigarette takes 7 minutes off your life.

Stroke

Mouth UlcersCough

MyocardialInfarction

AtherosclerosisBronchogeniccarcinoma

Gastric Carcinoma

� Gujarat study – On prevalence of smoking among high school students,awareness of ill effects and reasons forsmoking.

� Peshawar study – On awareness of illeffects of smoking among smokers andnon smokers in high school.

� Indiana youth tobacco survey – On‘exposure to smoking cessationprogramme’

Will an education program using audio-visual aids to boys in classes VIII and IX in Sri Gopal Naidu Higher Secondary school, Peelamedu, over a period of 2 months, result in increasing the awareness by 50% regarding the ill effects of smoking as evidenced by pre- and post-interventional surveys?

To achieve a 50% increase in the awareness of the ill-effects of smoking in the VIII and IX standard boys of Sri Gopal Naidu Higher Secondary School, Peelamedu.

To employ audio-visual aids and other such educational measures to achieve the same.

Design of study : Educational Interventional study

Subjects : All VIII and IX standardboys of Sri Gopal NaiduHigher Secondary School,Peelamedu

Sample size : 94

Manpower:Student volunteers : 10Teacher : 1

Materials:Audio system : 1Charts : 5Models : 1 Questionnaires : 200

Incidentals: Travel charges

Pre interventional study – Questionnaires

Following 3 days -- Analysis

First part of health educationSkit , Lectures , Audio-visual aids 1 week gap

� ���������������� � �������� � ������

Second part of health educationRe-emphasis -- Charts

QuizCrosswordInteractive sessions

Post interventional survey -- Questionnaires

91.493.192.133.19

86323

• Never• Have tried once• At times• Often

PercentageNo. of students

Do you smoke?

2% 3% 3%

92%

Often Have tried onceAt times Never

CurrentPrevalence

OfSmoking

InspirationFor

Smoking

00

37.562.5

0035

Family Media

Curiosity Friends

PercentageNo. of studentsInspiration

38%62%

Curiosity Friends

Family Media

ReasonsGiven

ForSmoking

37.512.5

050

3104

Relieves exam tensionAcceptance from friendsHelps forget problemsJust for fun

PercentageNo. of studentsPleasures derived

49%

38%

13% 0% Just for fun

Relieves examtensionAcceptancefrom friendsHelps forgetproblems

Awareness of hazards of Passive Smoking

96.81

1.06

2.13

75.53

9.57

14.89

91

1

2

71

9

14

Yes

No

Don’t know

Post-testPre-test

Post-test

Pre-test

Percentage No. of studentsAwareness

Awareness of ill effects

59.5747.88

48.97

36.21

95.7480.85

97.87

55.31

36.1732.97

48.9

19.1

9076

92

52

3431

46

18

•Cough•Staining of teeth •Lung cancer•Mouth ulcer

PostPrePostPre% Rise in awareness

% AwareNumber awareIll effects

51.07

39.3628.74

24.47

94.68

68.0856.38

11.70

43.61

28.7227.64

36.17

89

6453

11

41

2726

34

•Heart attack/stroke•High B.P.•Stomach cancer•Blood cancer

0102030405060708090

100

Cough Staining ofteeth

Lungcancer

Mouthulcer

Heartattack /Stroke

PRE - TEST POST - TEST

Effectiveness of health education

1582

16.83

84.14%

803

8.54

42.71%

Total score of 94 students

Average score per student

% Awareness of ill effects

Post-testPre-test

• Comparing pre test and post test results there is a 97% increase in awareness.

• ‘t’ – value implies significant increase in %awareness.

Comparing the results of our study with similar studies conducted among school children across the world we arrived at the following inferences…..

“ Tobacco is the only legally available product which kills people when entirely used as intended. ”

- The Oxford Medical Companion, 1994

Current prevalence of smoking

8.51%15%61%

32.2%

•Our study•AIIMS study•US study•Kenya study

PrevalenceStudies

“ If GOD intended man to smoke, He would have set him on fire” - Anonymous

Inspiration for smoking

Peer pressure 21%•AIIMS study

Peer presure-15.8%Curiosity-34.2%Media-7.9%Family-4.4%

•Gujarat study

Peer pressure- 62.5%Curiosity-37.5%

•Our studyResultsStudies

“Cigarette : A fire at one end, a fool at the other and a bit oftobacco in between”

- Anonymous

Reasons given for smoking

Just for fun-33%Relieves exam tension-33%

•Peshawar study

Just for fun-54.4%Relieves exam tension-32.4%Acceptance from friends-15.8%Helps forget problems-16.6%

•Gujarat studyJust for fun-83.3%•Delhi study

Just for fun-50%Relieves exam tension-37.5%Acceptance from friends-12.5%

•Our studyResultsStudy

“ To an average smoker, the world is his ashtray”- Alexander Chase

Awareness of the hazards of passive smoking

94%•Peshawar study80%•AIIMS study

75.53%•Our studyAwarenessStudy

“Passive smoking…. There is nothing passive about it”- Anonymous

Awareness of the hazards of smoking

45.34%-27.64%4.CA stomach

-26.78%19.1%3.Mouth ulcer

49.54%54.66%36.17%2.Respiratoryillness

100%90%48.9%1.Lung cancer

Gujarat study

AIIMS study

Our studyAwareness in…Ill-effects

“ If we lose the battle against tobacco, we lose the war against Cancer.”- John Arrandando

Nearly all experimentation with tobacco occurs before high school graduation. If young people can be kept tobacco free, most of them will never start using tobacco. It was in an effort to catch them young that we undertook this project at the end of which we were able to achieve a significant 97% increase in awareness.

CONCLUSION

“ The only safer cigarette is your last one”- Duane Alan Hahn

“ …and make not your hands contribute to your own destruction.”

- HOLY QURAN ( 2 : 195 )