Tobacco and Health
Volume:1 Issue: 1, Jan 2022

Hookah smoking is considered a health problem in women and interventions should be designed to reduce it. This study aimed to explore the effect of an educational campaign based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) on the reduction of hookah smoking.

This quasi-experimental research was conducted on 177 female hookah smokers above 15 years of age residing in Hormoz Island. The data collection instrument contained two sections: demographic information and the constructs of the TPB. The questionnaire was completed twice, before the educational intervention and 3 months after the intervention. The educational campaign was conducted by making cell phone calls, putting up billboards, distributing pamphlets, holding face-to-face classes, and forming a peer group. The data were analyzed using paired-sample t-test, and McNemar’s test in SPSS version 23.0.

The mean age of the participants and the beginning age of smoking hookahs among the participating women were 34.16 ± 10.47 and 22.20 ± 8.45 years, respectively. After the educational campaign, there was a significant increase in the scores of the TPB constructs (attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention) and a reduction in hookah smoking among participants (P < 0.05). Moreover, the frequency of smoking hookah per month and per week showed a statistically significant reduction among the participants after the administration of the educational campaign (P <0.05). During this time, 6 participants stopped smoking hookah.

In the light of the present findings, it can be concluded that the conducted educational campaign based on the TPB significantly reduced hookah smoking among girls and women.

Smoking hookah during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic is a dangerous factor which could exacerbate the symptoms of the illness. The present study aimed at determining the relationship between knowledge and attitudes toward the negative effects of smoking hookah on the exacerbation of COVID-19 symptoms and the role of some effective socio-demographic factors.

This descriptive-analytical study was conducted (February 2021 to April 2021) among 933 women over the age of 15 who smoked hookah in Hormozgan province. A self-made questionnaire was completed by women after its preparation and online checking of its validity and reliability.

The mean and standard deviation of knowledge and attitude scores were 5.13 ± 2.19 and 25.20 ± 4.75, respectively. In this study, 65% of the subjects had adequate knowledge and 48.7% had a positive attitude. However, the predictors of adequate knowledge were: subjects aged over 50 compared to those aged 35-50 years [1.975 (1.029-3.794)], subjects with university degrees compared to those with primary school, high school or diploma degrees [2.445 (1.476-4.049)], [5.508 (3.305-9.178)], [3.991 (1.981-8.042)], subjects with good economic status compared to those with poor economic status [1.966 (1.218-3.175)], and age of onset of smoking hookah after 30 compared to the onset age between 15 and 30 as well as below 15 [2.563 (1.030-6.379)], [6.308 (2.249-17.693)]. There was no statistically significant relationship between any of the demographic factors and attitudes.

In general, increasing knowledge and changing attitudes about the relationship between smoking hookah and exacerbation of the COVID-19 symptoms can be an effective step in reducing hookah use during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings can provide policymakers with valuable insights and information on the importance of community-wide training programs.

Around the globe, tobacco use is a major risk factor that is associated with diseases, especially noncontagious diseases. Iran has not been an exception and has witnessed an exponential growth in tobacco use. This rising trend motivated the present study to explore the correlates of tobacco use in the south of Iran in Hormozgan Province.

This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2017 on 4,872 residents of Hormozgan who were selected through multi-stratified cluster sampling. The data were collected by researcher-made questionnaires which were analyzed in SPSS 19. A logistic regression analysis was run to find the foremost correlates of tobacco use.

The findings indicated that 1,085 (22.3%) of the sample used tobacco. Based on the obtained data, 25.1% and 20.3% of participants were males and females, respectively. The major correlates of tobacco use were found to be masculinity, higher age (P < 0.001), citizenship (P < 0.001), and low education level (P < 0.001). The unemployed or those with simple jobs showed a higher tendency to use tobacco compared to the more professional (P < 0.001). Finally, single participants demonstrated a higher rate of using tobacco in comparison with married ones (P < 0.001).

Significant differences were found between rural and urban residents, those with low and high education levels, men and women, the unemployed and employed participants, as well as the single and married ones. Accordingly, considering effective factors accounting for these divergences and designing effective interventions can help moderate the effect of these factors in controlling tobacco use in the future in Hormozgan.

Tobacco use (TU) has been increasing in Iran and turned into a major national healthcare concern. Therefore, the present research aimed to explore the prevalence of TU and its predictors in Bandar Kong in the south of Iran.

The baseline data from the Bandare Kong Cohort Study were used in a prospective study of 4,035 subjects (40-70 years old) in Hormozgan province from 2016 to 2018. Adjusted and crude odds ratios (OR) were used at 95% confidence interval (CI) to determine the predictors of TU.

Hookah smoking (HS) was found to be the most prevalent type of smoking (17.60%, 95% CI: 16.41-18.78%), followed by second-hand smoking (17%, 95% CI: 15.81-18.14%) and cigarette smoking (9%, 95% CI: 8.11-9.89%), respectively. Age, gender, education, alcohol consumption, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) were the main predictors of cigarette and HS. Marital status, place of residence, and psychological problems were the predictors of HS (OR = 0.1.65, 95% CI: 1.11, 2.45, P = 0.01), and body mass index (BMI) (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: .93, 0.98, P = 0.002) and drug abuse (OR = 4.52, 95% CI: 3.11, 6.55, P < 0.001) were the predictors of cigarette smoking.

Male gender, higher age, rural residence, low education, alcohol consumption, drugs, second-hand smoking, and history of depression were among the main risk factors of smoking behavior. The results indicated a considerable need for more educational and preventive programs for each risk factor involved in smoking behavior especially for HS, exposure to ETS, and its consequences in the population of Bandar Kong.

Tobacco smoking is a major anticipated risk factor that causes serious health challenges. In recent decades, hookah consumption has grown rapidly among adolescents and the youth around the world and it is currently considered a global public health problem. Therefore, the present study aims at investigating hookah consumption and identifying related socio-cultural factors.

This study used a quantitative method and the survey technique. Using multi-stage stratified sampling, 600 young subjects aged 18-29 were studied in the city of Shiraz. William Cockerham’s health lifestyles model was used as the theoretical framework for this study and the data were analyzed using SPSS.

The findings of this study indicated that 44.2% of the respondents have a history of hookah use and there is a statistically significant relationship between hookah use and age, gender, marital status, education, social belonging, social capital, health-related cultural capital, and general self-efficacy.

Based on the results of this study, it seems that using coherent educational and culture-building programs and, thus, the promotion of social capital, health-related cultural capital, and general self-efficacy, the hookah consumption rate can be reduced among the youth.

The coronavirus, which leads to coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), may affect various systems of the body (including respiratory, heart, blood circulation, gastrointestinal, nervous, urinary, and renal systems). Similar to COVID-19, first- and second-hand smoking also endanger the immune system and affect a wide range of systems. Therefore, considering the adverse effects of tobacco on different systems of the body, this study aimed at investigating the effects of tobacco on the onset, transmission, prognosis, and severity of COVID-19 in patients. Related articles were selected through advanced searching in Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases and Google search engine while including no time limit and using three keywords derived from Mesh (COVID-19, smoking, and tobacco). Most studies have indicated that the incidence of COVID-19 was extremely lower in patients with a history of active smoking compared to patients with no smoking history. According to the results, smoking has an impact on the prognosis and outcome of COVID-19, increases the severity of the disease, the need for hospitalization and the intensive care unit (ICU), and the death rate, as well as challenging the treatment process and changing the attitude of smokers, enhancing their desire to quit smoking. Therefore, smokers are less likely to develop COVID-19, but the rate of transmission, disease severity, and mortality and the need for hospitalization increase in these subjects, and thus treatment will be challenging. Thus, quitting smoking may help improve the function of the respiratory system.

Viral pneumonia affects about 200 million people each year. Viral pneumonias have a seasonal pattern and are more common among children and the elderly. The most common virus in children is respiratory syncytial virus (RCV) and it is the influenza virus in adults. The world has been fighting the COVID-19 pandemic since December 2019. Among all the epidemiological risk factors, the role of smoking as a risk factor for pneumonia is controversial. Cigarette smoke contains about 5000 chemicals that weaken the defense mechanisms of the respiratory system and increase the risk of various respiratory infections. The present review study was carried out on 105 articles that were obtained from searches in Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar search engines using the keywords viral pneumonia, COVID-19, influenza, cigarette, smoking, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV-2. A total of 55 articles that focused on the effect of smoking on the incidence and mortality of pneumonia due to RSV, influenza, and coronavirus were selected. Exposure to secondhand smoke makes children more susceptible to RSV infection. Smokers are also more likely to become infected and die from the flu. The effect of smoking on the risk of COVID-19 is controversial. In this regard, the results of a number of studies show that smokers are at a greater risk of developing COVID-19 infection and death. However, there are other studies suggesting that smoking has no effect on COVID-19 infection and that smoking reduces the risk of developing COVID-19.