TY - JOUR
T1 - Pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs and effect on smoking
T2 - Medical student’s perspective
AU - Masud, Nazish
AU - Azzahrani, Zakariya Khalid
AU - Towhari, Jawaher Ali
AU - Alquayt, Meshari Fawaz
AU - Kanadily, Fouad Adel
AU - Aldosari, Abdulaziz Muddhi
AU - Altowairiki, Raed Sami
AU - Masuadi, Emad
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Pakistan Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/6
Y1 - 2020/6
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical students towards pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2017 to December 2018 at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and comprised medical students from third to sixth year. Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire which was validated through pilot-testing. A five-point Likert scale was used to access each item, with 1 as strongly disagree and 5 as strongly agree. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. Result: Of the 335 subjects, 181(54%) were males. The overall mean age was 23±2.2 years and 307(92%) were nonsmokers. The overall knowledge, attitude and practice was low with a total median score of 3.3 (interquartile range: 3.1-3.6). However, knowledge was better 4 (interquartile range: 3.7-4.7). Males had significantly more knowledge about the pictorial health warnings compared to females (p<0.001). Having a smoker friend had significantly better effect on the overall knowledge and attitude with (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study concludes that pictorial warnings are not helpful in persuading the current smokers to give up smoking. The knowledge about who take the decision of printing these warnings is not known to majority of the participants. Those who had a friend smoker had considerably better knowledge about pictorial warnings. Display of pictorial warnings might not be enough to serve the purpose of discouraging future smokers. Innovative strategies involving the non-smokers (peers and friends) should also be considered in the new era for cessation of smoking.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice of medical students towards pictorial warnings on cigarette packets. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2017 to December 2018 at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and comprised medical students from third to sixth year. Data was collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire which was validated through pilot-testing. A five-point Likert scale was used to access each item, with 1 as strongly disagree and 5 as strongly agree. Data was analysed using SPSS 22. Result: Of the 335 subjects, 181(54%) were males. The overall mean age was 23±2.2 years and 307(92%) were nonsmokers. The overall knowledge, attitude and practice was low with a total median score of 3.3 (interquartile range: 3.1-3.6). However, knowledge was better 4 (interquartile range: 3.7-4.7). Males had significantly more knowledge about the pictorial health warnings compared to females (p<0.001). Having a smoker friend had significantly better effect on the overall knowledge and attitude with (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study concludes that pictorial warnings are not helpful in persuading the current smokers to give up smoking. The knowledge about who take the decision of printing these warnings is not known to majority of the participants. Those who had a friend smoker had considerably better knowledge about pictorial warnings. Display of pictorial warnings might not be enough to serve the purpose of discouraging future smokers. Innovative strategies involving the non-smokers (peers and friends) should also be considered in the new era for cessation of smoking.
KW - Cross sectional
KW - Health warnings
KW - KAP
KW - Peer influence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089635231&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85089635231&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5455/JPMA.28883
DO - 10.5455/JPMA.28883
M3 - Article
C2 - 32810103
AN - SCOPUS:85089635231
SN - 0030-9982
VL - 70
SP - 1042
EP - 1047
JO - Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
JF - Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
IS - 6
ER -