Smoking Turnover IntentionAmong Active Tobacco Smokers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kathmandu, Nepal

Authors

  • Bhuvan Saud Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Janamaitri Foundation Institute of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal
  • Saroj Adhikari National Trauma Center, Ministry of Health and Population, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Neetu Amatya Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Janamaitri Foundation Institute of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal
  • Harish Singh Thapa Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University School of Education, Lalitpur, Nepal
  • Govinda Paudel Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Janamaitri Foundation Institute of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal
  • Shankar Shahi Public Health Laboratory, Bagmati Province, Dhulikhel, Kavrepalanchok, Nepal
  • Pravin Kumar Yadav National Trauma Center, Ministry of Health and Population, Kathmandu, Nepal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v7i1.503

Keywords:

Smoking, health, COVID-19, quit intension, perception

Abstract

Background: SARS-CoV-2 mainly causes respiratory tract infection in humans.

Objective: This study was aimed to access active smokers’ knowledge of health consequences caused by smoking, perception, and turnover intention during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive, questionnaires-based, face-to-face interview was conducted with 350 participants inside Kathmandu valley, Nepal. The questionnaire consisted of socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of health consequences, and perception and turnover intention. The Association of smokers’ perception towards harmful health effects of smoking and turnover intention during the pandemic measured by chi-square test and p-value <0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Overall, 93.7% of participants were male, more than 63.0% were from age group 31 to 50 years, 41.4% had intermediate level education, 76.3% were employed, 76.3% followed Hindu religion, 67.7% were married and 64.2% were daily wage workers. 94.8 % smoked cigarettes and nearly 50.0% smoked 11-20 sticks/day. The majority of the participants had knowledge about lung cancer and COPD. Significant association of perception with turnover intention was seen in smoking damages health severely with COVID-19 infection, quitting smoking was beneficial for health, smoking could damage health in the future and smokers may show severe complication.

Conclusion: This study showed that even though majority participants were familiar about the health hazards caused by smoking, some of them had no turnover intention. The respondents did not have perception of health consequences resulted from smoking to second-hand users and that smoking could reduce lung and immunity function. Public awareness programs, imposing heavy taxes on tobacco products and active advertisements can be done to promote turnover intention in smokers.

International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Vol. 07 No. 01 Jan’22 Page: 83-88

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Published

2023-01-11

How to Cite

Saud, B., Adhikari, S., Amatya, N., Thapa, H. S., Paudel, G., Shahi, S., & Yadav, P. K. (2023). Smoking Turnover IntentionAmong Active Tobacco Smokers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kathmandu, Nepal. International Journal of Human and Health Sciences (IJHHS), 7(1), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v7i1.503

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Bhuvan Saud, Saroj Adhikari, Neetu Amatya, Harish Singh Thapa, Govinda Paudel, Shankar Shahi, Pravin Kumar Yadav

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