CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The negative effects of smoking and tobacco use on one’s health cannot be overstated. Cigarette smoking is still a major public health issue and one of the leading preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the globe (Can, Topbas, Ozuna, Ozgun, Can & Yavuzyilmaz, 2009; Mpabulungi & Muula, 2004; Salawu, Danburam, Desalu, Olokoba, Agbo & Midala, 2009; World health Organisation, 2015). Although it is widely known that many smokers begin before the age of 18, it is intriguing to learn about the rising trend in smoking prevalence among youngsters, as well as the likelihood that many of these young individuals who start smoking at a young age will continue to do so throughout their adult lives (Adebiyi, Faseru, Sangowawa & Owoaje, 2010). Although tobacco use has decreased in many high-income countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, it is increasing in many low- and middle-income countries (Boutayeb & Boutayeb, 2005; Warren, Jones, Eriksen, & Asma, 2006), and tobacco smoking is now the most popular form of smoking, with over one billion people in the majority of human societies (Boutayeb & Boutayeb, 2005; Warren, Jones (Akinpelu, 2015). Tobacco is the most widely used hazardous substance, aided by its legal availability, heavy promotion, and widespread consumption. It has been shown to be problematic, including other forms of use other than cigarettes, which is on the rise among adolescents in many countries and is likely to jeopardize progress in reducing chronic diseases and tobacco-related deaths.
Tobacco smoking among adolescents is steadily increasing, posing a complex and multidimensional challenge (Soni & Raut, 2012). Tobacco, as Melgosa (2006) correctly points out, is a substance with the lowest short-term risk, but one that takes away the biggest number of people’s health and lives in the long run.
Ischemic heart disease, chronic bronchitis, and malignancies of the lung, oral cavity, urinary bladder, pancreas, and larynx are among the disorders attributed to cigarette smoking in humans (Desalu, Olokoba, Danburam, Salawu & Issa, 2008). Tobacco usage has resulted in an estimated 12 million fatalities worldwide over the last four decades, including 4.1 million deaths from cancer, 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular illnesses, and 2.1 million deaths from other causes.
By 2025, it is expected that the number of fatalities caused by tobacco will rise from 3 million to 70 million per year worldwide (Reddy & Arora, 2005; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). Adolescents are reported to be particularly prone to these effects and may be more likely than adults to acquire a cigarette addiction (Chakraborty, 2009). Furthermore, it has been estimated that if the current trend among youngsters continues, a lifetime of tobacco smoking will kill 250 million children and young people alive today, the majority of whom live in developing nations (WHO, 2012).
The most vulnerable age for starting tobacco use, as in other developing nations, has been discovered to be between the ages of 15 and 24 years. Because of how strongly it has been linked to health outcomes, health-related behaviors, and other risk variables, educational attainment is usually regarded as an important health risk factor (National Center for Health Statistics, 1999). Despite the fact that school dropouts are more likely to smoke heavily than students, smoking prevention programs have focused almost exclusively on youth, primarily within the school setting (Backinger, 2003; Ekanem, 2008; Salawu, Danburam & Isa, 2010; Fawibe & Shittu, 2011; Hammond, 2005; Nwafor, Ibe & Aguwa, 2012; Odukoya, Odeyemi & Oyeyemi (Aloise-Young, Cruickshank & Chavez, 2002). The prevalence of tobacco use among Nigerian youth is higher than that of adults (Odukoya, Odeyemi, Oyeyemi & Updhyay, 2013).
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Smoking rates among teenagers have been rising worldwide (Pomara, Cassano, D’Errico, Bello, Romano, & Riezzo et al, 2012), with numbers ranging from 721 million in 1980 to 967 million in 2012. (Marie, 2013). Studies have revealed a significant increase in the prevalence rate of smoking among youth in Sub-Saharan Africa (Shafey, Dolwick & Guindon, 2012), particularly in Nigeria (Drope, 2011; Yahya, Hammangabdo & Omotara, 2010), with statistics showing that youths account for over 40% of the Nigerian population and 18% of the youths smoking, identifying youths as a major group involved in smoking over the last two decades (Gboyega, Adesegun & Chikezie, 2013). Smokers’ poor assessment of the harmful impacts of their smoking behavior on their health also contributes to their unwillingness to quit, with the majority feeling a sense of invincibility when it comes to the dangers of smoking (Fawibe & Shittu, 2011). According to studies, people who believe smoking has fewer hazards and more advantages are more likely to start (Song, Morrell, Cornell, Ramos, Biehl, Kropp & Halpern-Felsher, 2009). According to research, teens’ views of health hazards influence their decision to smoke cigarettes (Aryal, Petzold & Krettek, 2013; Mantler, 2013). According to other surveys, more than 3,200 persons under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette every day, and around 2,100 teenagers and young adults become daily smokers. Furthermore, research have shown that as of 2012, non-communicable diseases (including respiratory tract infections) contributed for 2.7 million fatalities in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria included, as a result of smoking (WHO, 2000-2012). Smoking causes about 9 out of 10 lung cancers, according to the literature, and smokers today are far more likely to develop lung cancer than smokers in 1964. (Siegel, Miller, Jemal, 2016). Smoking causes malignancies of the throat, mouth, nasal cavity, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix in Nigeria and around the world, as well as acute myeloid leukemia (Jha, Ramasundarahettige & Landsman, 2013). Furthermore, research reveal that 8 out of 10 COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) sufferers are women. Despite the National Assembly of Nigeria passing the National Tobacco Control Bill, a bill aimed at domesticating the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to avert the unimaginable disaster associated with smoking, many young people are still caught in the web of the act, putting their lives in danger. Investigating smoking practices and health risk perceptions of out-of-school youths in chosen vehicle parks in Oshodi local government area of Lagos state, Nigeria, will be extremely beneficial.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The overall goal of this study is to determine the smoking habits of out-of-school kids as well as their perceptions of health risks.
The following are the precise goals:
1. determine the prevalence of smoking among respondents;
2. determine the smoking habits of the responders and
3. Determine whether respondents believe smoking poses a low health risk.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the degree of smoking prevalence among respondents?
2. What is the smoking pattern among respondents?
3. Do respondents believe smoking poses a low risk to their health?
JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
Smoking damages practically every organ in the body and hastens the deterioration of one’s quality of life (Abdulahi, 2014). According to studies, the Nigerian population is more prone to smoking, with the majority of smokers being youths (Ogunmola, Adegboyega, Oluwafemi, 2015), implying that Nigerian smokers are more susceptible to its health concerns. Tobacco addiction affects over 4.5 million adult Nigerians, resulting in 5.4 million deaths per year, compared to 3 million and 1 million deaths caused by AIDS and malaria, respectively (Global Health Sector Strategy, 2011)
Another source of concern could be the inaccessibility of the tar level of a recent Nigerian cigarette (Egbe, Petrerson & Mayer-Weitz, 2016). According to Olusegun Owotomo, an independent tobacco control activist, roughly 93 million cigarettes are produced and consumed annually in Nigeria, resulting in respiratory diseases among 150,000-300,000 children under the age of 18 months as a result of passive smoking.
With the rising trend of tobacco use among Nigerian youth, research show that half of all lifelong smokers will die early, losing on average 10 years of life (Gholamreza, Mostafa, Mahmoud, Hadi, Masoud & Atena, 2015). It is expected that a large epidemic of tobacco-related disorders will erupt, especially given the extended duration of the epidemic. Because not only smokers but also non-smokers are predisposed to these harmful consequences, it is critical that its reduction be a top priority in public health promotion and education. Because there is no such thing as a safe tobacco product or a safe amount of tobacco usage, the best strategy to minimize tobacco-related deaths is to stop using it in the first place.
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