A study on tobacco consumption habit among the elderly population

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco use is serious public health problems in many countries including India because of the associated health hazards. It is essential to bring down the health related risk behaviors among elderly population for promotion and prolongation of healthy life.Aim:To assess health related risk behaviors and tobacco consumption among the geriatric population and making comparison of rural and urban elderly people. Material and method: A pretested, semi-structured questionnaire pertaining to socio-demographic information and three common risk behaviour practices and tobacco consumption was used for data collection. Results: Overall, 9.6% rural and 6.8% urban elderly were current gutkha users. 19.6% rural and 12.8% urban elderly were current smokers while 20.4% rural and 14.0% urban elderly were current khaini tobacco users. Proportions of males were significantly higher among tobacco user elderly participants inboth rural and urban areas. Proportions of rural elderly were significantly higher among tobacco chewers. Conclusion: Overall prevalence of health risk behaviors was high among the study population. No significant difference found between rural and urban elderly people in relation to habit of tobacco.