DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2017.v05i09.052

Pages: 3774-3779

Lack of awareness regarding the ill-effects of tobacco is often cited as the reason behind the widespread tobacco use in the community. This study was conducted to assess the intentions towards, and success with tobacco-cessation among first-degree relatives of head & neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) patients. During April 2015-January 2017 a total of 358 first-degree relatives of HNSCC patients were enrolled after ensuring awareness of tobacco-related harms. All respondents answered the first interview on the first-day, during which intentions, knowledge and attitudes towards tobacco-use were collected. A second interview was answered 3-months later, and data regarding success with tobacco-cessation, as well as reasons for failure were collected. Though 80.4% (n=288) respondents reported intentions of quitting tobacco during the first-interview, only 15.6% (n=56) were actually able to completely quit tobacco as assessed 3-months later during the second-interview. Long-term tobacco users were less likely to succeed than short-term users (12.5% vs. 26.6%, p=0.0041). Exclusive users of smoked tobacco were less likely to succeed than exclusive users of smokeless tobacco (13% vs. 25.4%, p=0.0235). As to the reasons for not being able to quit tobacco use, inability to curb craving was the most commonly reason reported (by 36.9%), while surprisingly the second commonest reason provided was that 28.4% reported as willing to accept risks of tobacco. Other reasons cited were 'peer pressure' (16.6%) and 'not being convinced with the risks' (11.3%). Only 47.7% of non-quitters were open to nicotine replacement therapy as an option. Even in a population with 100% awareness on the ill-effects of tobacco, the proportion of people quitting tobacco use is dismally low. This implies the need for more intense behavioral modification efforts, moving beyond the simple propagation of awareness about the ill-effects of tobacco use.