Smokeless hobby": Educational program proposal against smoking in adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: The habit of smoking begins and it settles down in early stages of the life, particularly during adolescence and youth. The effects on the oral cavity are diverse and their knowledge is important to carry out educational actions.
Objectives: To identify the behaviors and the knowledge of the habit of smoking in the adolescents of the Pre-university School Jose Marti Perez, of Old Havana municipality, and to design an educational program.
Material and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in 53 students. The studied variables were: sex, time of consumption, number of cigarettes, reasons for smoke. The information was obtained by means of the application of a survey.
Results: 90,5% of the studied population  practices the habit of smoking, 62,2% consumes 5-10 cigarettes daily, 39,5% being smoking between 2 and 5 months. The reasons that encourage them to begin in the tobaccoism were: to share with friends in the parties (22, 9%), and because they like it and it satisfies them (20,8%); while 85,4% ignored the effect on the gums and 68,7% did not know that it causes premalignant lesions. More than 50% ignored the deleterious effects on oral health. An educational program was designed. 
Conclusions: Most of the studied population practices the habit of smoking. The masculine sex, the daily consumption between 5 to 10 cigarettes and being smoking between 2 and 6 months predominate. The prevalent reasons for smoking are: sharing with friends in the parties; and they like and it satisfies them. The ignorance of the harmful effect on the oral health prevail. The designed educative program should increase the knowledge about the deleterious effects of smoking and promote the abandon of the habit.

Keywords: Smoking habit, tobaccoism, behaviors, effect, buccal cavity, educational program, adolescent.