Perception of Public Smoking. A Survey of Odorkor in the Greater Accra Region

Abstract:

Smoking is a common practice which societies have been confronted with in both rural and urban areas. This paper specifically sought from respondents whether they are aware of tobacco smoke on their health as a whole. Precisely, it finds out the point in time at which a person starts smoking; what one derives from smoking; and examines the health implications associated with smoking. The study was conducted at Odorkor in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. A cluster sample was used in a survey on smokers and non-smokers. A sample size of 60 respondents was covered, andquestionnaires were used as the formal instrument to solicit for responses.

The survey responses indicated that 90.0 percent of smokers starts at a youthful age (between 20 to 35 years), 96.0 percent of the smokers started smoking as a result of their association with peers,others smoke out of curiosity (2 percent), and influence from advertisement and watching movies (18.3 percent).

With respect to health implications of smoking, 84.5 of the respondents stated that one gets lung cancer as a result of smoking, 5.0 percent stated thatpeople derive pleasure from smoking, 13.3 percent do not know what smokers derive from smoking, but to 10.0 percent of the respondents smokers only get more addicted to smoking and are at a high risk of early death than non-smokers. Whiles about 71.1 percent of the respondents are aware of the health implications associated with tobacco smoking, others could not state any tobacco related diseases.

Keywords: Tobacco Smoke, Second-Hand-Smoke, Passive Smokers, Lung Cancer.

I. INTRODUCTION

Is the cause of our illness and early death as a result of our lifestyle? Or is there an environmental hazard we cannot escape? Let‘s find out from the perspective of smoking.

Smoking has long been considered as an individual right, however, little thought or consideration has been given to what right the non-smoker has to live and work in areas free from air polluted by smoke (Carroll and Miller, 1976).

According to Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (2008) young men are less likely to smoke than men in their 30s and 40s. It is also perceived that smoking is a consumer behavior that is considered harmful to both the smoker and the non-smoker. This has drawn the attention of researchers from all over the world to pen on the menace.

According to the UN (1999:390) globally almost half (47.0 percent) of men smoke, than fewer women (12.0 percent), further it stated that in the established market economies, 37.0 percent of men are regular smokers, compared with about 60.0 percent of men in the former socialist economies of Europe and China. Other inference from the UN holds that smoking prevalence is high in developing regions and is estimated at around 40 percent in India, Latin America and North Africa/Western Asia, and even higher (54.0 percent) in other parts of Asia. Chollat-Traquet (1992), and the WHO (2000) report that there is no known safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke, and that the common separation of smokers and non-smokers within the same air space does not protect non-smokers from the harm. Prokhorov et al., 2006, claims that worldwide tobacco indulgence is responsible for about 4 million deaths each year (Lauer and Lauer, 2008).

According to Chollat-Traquet (1992), besides the acute effects of eye and throat irritation due to exposure to the smoke, passive smoking is detrimental to the respiratory tissues and the risk of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease in non-smokers especially in children. According to Dintiman and Greenberg (1989), nicotine is a colorless oil compound in tobacco and produces addictiveness and as a result of that smoker who inhales smokes absorbs about 90.0 percent of the nicotine into the body, whiles non-inhalers absorb 25.0 to 30.0 percent. According to Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (2008) smoking is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease in Ghana. According to the survey smoking also causes lung and other forms of cancer, and contributes to the severity of pneumonia, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis, but it again stresses that all morbidity and mortality caused by smoking is preventable.

Judith and Eriksen (2002) has likewise argued that cigarettes kills half of all lifetime users, and half die in their middle age between 35 and 69 years old.

Therefore the study conducted sought to find out from Odorkor(an urban area with slum dwellers in Ablekuma north district) whether people are aware of the health hazards associated with smoking and second hand smoke. It is highly anticipated that thefindings will serve as a reference point to researchers, and also inform state and non-state decision makers on emerging policy related to health practices, projection for health practices and future healthcare needs, and to further help in assessing the human awareness level and educational needs to combat smoking and its associated implications.

2. WORLD VIEWAND PERCEIPTION ON PUBLIC SMOKING

Despite warnings from public health officials at all levels, substantial numbers of young men and women take up smoking every year (Calhoun et al., 1997). The health consequences are devastating and Walsh et al (2005) emphasizes that in addition to damage done to personal health, smoking has major financial costs too.

According to Moonie et al (2000), smoking was estimated to cause 30,000 deaths from lung cancer and 16,000 deaths from other cancer in 1995. Kendall, D (2006) report that, despite a variety of warnings from the United States Surgeon General about potentially harmful effects of smoking, many people continue to light up cigarette.

According to Farquhar and Spiller (1990), smoking seriously threatens the health of the smoker as well as the health of those who merely breathe the cigarette smoke. Lauer and Lauer (2008), stated that among the known consequences of smoking are increased probability of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases, increased risk of heart diseases and increased probability of complications during childbirth. To Coleman and Cressey (1992), cigarette smoking has been linked to cancer of the larynx, mouth, and oesophagus, as well as to lung cancer. Also La Croix et al (1991) cited in Lauer and Lauer (2008) claims that mortality rates of older adults from all causes are highest among current smokers.

According to Chollat-Traquet (1996), in her book titled “women and tobacco” said tobacco smoke is not only dangerous to the smoker but to the nearby non-smoker as well. Following this,Komblum and Julian (2001) further argues that women often expose unborn infants to the negative effects of smoking, resulting in especially low birth weight. Children are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of enforced passive smoking says Chollot-Traquet (1996).

According to the Ghana Demographic and Health survey (2008) among Ghanaian men who smoke cigarette, 37.0 percent smoke 3-5 cigarettes per day and 6.0 percent smoke 10 or more cigarettes per day. Among men, the highest proportions of current smokers are in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions (12.0-13.0percent), but only 1.0 percent of men in the central region are current smokers.

3. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS

The study engaged 60 respondents from the population universe. In this research 50 percent of the respondents were females and 50 percent respondents were males.

Age Distribution of Respondent

A majority of the respondents in this study were basically in their youthful age. They aged between 15 and 30 years and made up to 61.7 percent of the respondents. Table 1 shows the age distribution of the respondents.

Table 1: Age Distribution of Respondents

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Educational level of respondents

Out of the respondents interviewed, 80 percent have been education at the basic level. The table below is a distribution of the educational level of respondents as gathered by the researchers’fieldsurvey. It was ascertained that 20.0 percent of the respondents have not had any formal education, 14.0 percent have been educated up to Junior High School, and 31.0 percent have been educated to the Senior High School level and above.

Apart from perceived reasons that education level helps consumers and non-consumers to know the dangers posed by smoking, educational level seldom influences respondent to smoke. It is worth stating that though 20 percent of the respondents in the study are not formally education they claimed that smoking poses danger to individuals who smoke and the public at large.

Marital status of respondents

This variable rarely affects respondents’ tendency to smoke whether in private or public places. Whether one is married, single, widowed, or divorced does not affect their smoking patterns in this report. From the survey, 60.0 percent of the respondents were single, 26.67 percent were married, 6.67 percent were widowed, and 6.67 percent were divorced.Those into smoking did not report any marital problems as factors that got them into smoking. For this reason, one can deduce that marriage does not determine smoking patterns of people in the study area.

Residential status

Majority of the respondents in this study were resident in the study community, this is to say that 91.7 percent were resident in the community with only 8.3 percent as non-residents. This however did not have much bearing on the study since both residents and non-residents partly engaged in public smoking.

Religion of respondents

From the survey data, 75 percent of the respondents are Christians, 11.7 percent Muslims, 8.3 percent traditional practitioners, and 5 percent were practitioners of other religion. Religion as mentioned here plays an important role when it comes to smoking related behavior. The researcher’s observation from the study community and interview responses, was that no particular religious sect was seen admonishing its members to smoke. Though the Islamic and traditional religions are silent when it comes to smoking but for the Christian religion, a cursory observation from the respondents’ shows that preachers and teachers of the Christian doctrines condemn smoking on grounds that anybody that destroys his/her body God will likewise destroy him/her.

The point in time one starts smoking

According to 55.0 percent of the respondents interviewed, one begins to smoke because of pressure from peers. This is where the individual want to be identified with his/her group and by so doing tries to please friends by smoking if friends are into smoking and its related activities. 23.3 percent of the respondents in this research see advertisement as inducing people into engaging in smoking. Another 18.3 percent attribute commencement of smoking to curiosity and 3.3 percent respondents report other unknown factors.

What people derive from smoking?

People smoke for diverse reasons and the perceptions of people on smoking generally differs from one community to another and among different individuals. To some people smoking is functional (9.6 percent) and to 90.4 percent smoking in general is a canker to both the individual who smokes and his/her community as a whole. In the survey 9.6 percent of the respondents alike perceive smoking as a source of pleasure for the one who smokes, but 62.0 percent stated that one could only derive diseases from smoking. Yet 10.0 percent of the people believe that smoking provide some form of warmth for the smoker, increase their productivity, and ability to stay longer without necessarily depending on food.

According to 53.4 percent of respondents one gets nothing good from smoking, they see smoking as a self-harm and a threat to society’s survival. Another set of respondents (23.3 percent) says smokers derives emotional pleasure from smoking, and 10 percent of the respondents claims that people are satisfied with smoking that is why they become addicted as they smoke.

The Health Implications Associated With Smoking

Inference from the survey data shows that though every 31st May is being observed as World No Tobacco Day which creates awareness on the devastating nature of tobacco smoke to our health, some respondents (28.3) still do not seem to really know about it. Also, 71.7 percent who answered in the affirmative, indicating that they were aware of the health implications of smoking could not specify the type of disease that smoke poses to the lives of smokers and non-smokers. However, about 62 percent of the respondents were able to state some of the smoke related disease as bad breath, respiratory problems, lung cancer, heart disease, kidney failure,and dental dysfunction, irritation of the eye, low birth weight, severe coughing, liver cirrhosis, pulmonary diseases, and hypertension. Although some respondents suggested that smokers should quit smoking because it is harmful to their health, others were unwillingly to make a response to the question. Respondents whom were able to mention a particular disease also stated that they have been affected before as a result of smoking or coming into contact with people who smoke.Despite the inability to mention a particular disease some still condemned engaging in smoking.

4. CONCLUSION

Findings from the study aims at protecting present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental, and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke. Ghana rectified the convention in 2004, but very little has actually been done to ensure that provisions in the convention are heeded to (Jeorge, 2010).

It is worth mentioning however that a look at the population of the study community, proves that the sample size for the study is not representative enough. What this further implies is that a generalization of the study findings is problematic and thus considered as a limitation and findings may only be peculiar to the study community.

Based on the findings the following are recommended;

- Ghana must revisit the 2004 convention on smoking and heed to the recommendations.
- Government agencies and civil society organization must also endeavor to engage in massive and effective public education to create awareness on the health implication of smoking and the best way to prevent people from smoking and Second Hand Smoke as a whole.

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