Factors related to knowledge and perception of women about smoking: a cross sectional study from a developing country

Abstract

BackgroundSmoking rates among women are currently low, but they are the fastest growing segment of cigarette smoking population in developing countries. We aimed to assess the knowledge and perceptions towards smoking and to identify the factors related with level of knowledge and perceptions among adult women in urban slums.MethodsThis was a cross sectional study conducted on 250 adult (≥18 years of age) women attending primary care clinics in three slums of Karachi, Pakistan. A pre-tested and structured, interviewer administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Factors associated with level of understanding about smoking were analyzed with chi-square test.ResultsMost of the women knew that smoking has adverse effects on women and children's health but the knowledge of specific health effects was limited. About one third of the women knew that active smoking can cause lung disease, but only a small percentage (7%) knew that it could lead to heart disease. None of the women were aware that smoking contributes to infertility and osteoporosis. A small proportion of women were aware that smoking can lead to low birth weight (7%), congenital anomalies (5%) and less than 1% of women knew that it contributes to pregnancy loss, still birth and preterm delivery. The understanding of passive smoking affecting children's lung was low (20%) and a similar proportion voiced concern about the bad influence of maternal smoking on children. Educated women had better knowledge of health effects of smoking. Education was associated with having better knowledge about effects on women health in general (p = 0.02) and specific effects like lung (p = 0.03) and reproductive health effects (p < 0.001). Education was also associated with knowledge regarding effects on fetus (p < 0.001) and children (p < 0.005). Although most of the women disliked being around smokers, more than one third thought that smoking decreases boredom (39%), tension (38%) and also helps to relax (40%). A large proportion (48%) of women had the misconception that smoking helps to reduce weight.ConclusionsThis study reveals that women are aware of the general ill effects of smoking but fail to identify smoking to be associated with female maladies particularly those who were illiterate and had lower levels of education. Understanding and attitudes needs to be improved by increasing health awareness and education of women in these urban communities with special emphasis on the effects of smoking on women's health.

Awareness of an obstetric population about environmental tobacco smoking

“…[19] However, their knowledge of specific harmful effects of active smoking and exposure to ETS on the mother and fetus's health, such as prematurity, congenital anomalies and LBW, was less (1-7%) compared to our results (14-30%). A possible explanation of these differences in knowledge is the relatively high level of education in our study sample (51.7%).…”

Socioeconomic Determinants of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Pregnant Women

“…The study did not measure cotinine level in the pregnant women blood, to see if they were telling the truth about their exposure to SHS. Another limitation was we did not specify whether the participants lived in rural or urban areas, as differences in the cultures and the socioeconomic characteristics have been confirmed in the literature (8)(9)(10). Also we did not assess the knowledge, attitude and behavior of the participants toward SHS exposure.…”

Women and tobacco: a call for including gender in tobacco control research, policy and practice

“…One study in China found that over two-thirds of female smokers thought that ‘light’ or low tar cigarettes were less harmful than regular cigarettes,96 while another Chinese study found that awareness of ‘cigarettes made for women’ (women's brands) and believing that they were less harmful to health predicted smoking experimentation in female students 97. With regards to smoking during pregnancy, a study in Pakistan found that only 7% of women knew that smoking could lead to low birth weight; only one third of women knew that smoking caused lung disease 98. Similarly, a study in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo found that pregnant women's knowledge of the health risks of smoking and SHS exposure was very limited 99.…”