KNOWLEDGE OF SELECTED DISEASES CAUSED BY TOBACCO USE AMONG CIVIL SERVANTS IN ABAKALIKI METROPOLIS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background to the Study

WHO (2000) defined Tobacco as a green, leafy plant that is grown in warm climates. After it is picked, it is dried, ground up, and used in different ways. It can be smoked in a cigarette, pipe, or cigar. It can be chewed (called smokeless tobacco or chewing tobacco) or sniffed through the nose (called snuff). Nicotine is one of the more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarettes and its smoke. It is the chemical that makes tobacco addictive or habit forming. Once we smoke, chew, or sniff tobacco, nicotine goes into our bloodstream, and our body wants more. The nicotine in tobacco makes it a drug. This means that when we use tobacco, it changes our body in some way. Because nicotine is a stimulant, it speeds up the nervous system, so we feel like we have more energy. It also makes the heart beat faster and raises blood pressure.

Tobacco consumption, either in smokeless form or as smoking, is reported to be responsible for major diseases, such as; cancers diseases, cardiovascular diseases, perinatal diseases and respiratory diseases. Whatsoever control strategy is being used, the community participation is of utmost importance, which will depend largely on the level of the knowledge in the community. 

Cancer is one of the primary risks of tobacco usage, this include many forms of cancer, particularly lung cancer,kidney cancer,cancer of the larynxandhead and neck,bladder cancer,cancer of the esophagus,cancer of the pancreasandstomach cancer. Studies have established a relationship between tobacco smoke, including secondhand smoke, andcervical cancerin women. Cigar and or pipe smoking causecancersof the oral cavity (mouth) and the upper digestive tract (oropharynx and hypo pharynx,larynxand oesophagus). Theriskincreases with the amount smoked and when smoking is combined with alcohol consumption. Cigar and or pipe smoking also causes lungcancerand there is evidence that it may cause pancreatic, stomach and bladder cancer.

Flanders (2006), Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term that describes a disease of the heart or blood vessels. Blood flow to the heart, brain or body can be reduced as the result of ablood clot(thrombosis), or by a build-up of fatty deposits inside an artery that cause the artery to harden and narrow(atherosclerosis). There are four main types of cardiovascular disease, they are: coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, aortic disease. Cardiovascular diseases are a major public health challenge. Smoking plays a major role in cardiovascular pathophysiology. Therefore efforts are required to address the problem especially at preventive level. Public smoking bans are related to fewer admissions for both cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. Legislative efforts to reduce exposure to smoking are needed especially in the developing countries, where prevalence of smoking is rising.

Tverdal (2006) explained that, the respiratory system extends from the nose and upper airway to the alveolar surface of the lungs, where gas exchange occurs. Inhaled tobacco smoke moves from the mouth through the upper airway, ultimately reaching the alveoli. As the smoke moves more deeply into the respiratory tract, more soluble gases are adsorbed and particles are deposited in the airways and alveoli. The substantial doses of carcinogens and toxins delivered to these sites place smokers at risk for malignant and nonmalignant diseases involving all components of the respiratory tract including the mouth. The nonmalignant respiratory diseases caused by smoking contribute substantially to the burden of morbidity and mortality attributable to smoking and other means of tobacco use. To protect the lungs from injury, the respiratory tract has an elegant set of mechanisms for handling the particles and gases in inhaled air.

Most people do not know that smoking causes cancer, heart disease, and other major health problems. Smoking during pregnancy causes additional health problems, including premature birth(being born too early), certain birth defects, and infant death. Smoking makes it harder for some woman to get pregnant. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely than other women to have a miscarriage. (Chaung,2011). he further stated that Smoking can cause problems with the placenta the source of the baby's food and oxygen during pregnancy. For example, the placenta can separate from the womb too early, causing bleeding, which is dangerous to the mother and baby. Women who smoke may have a modest increase in risks for ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous abortion. Smoking during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for premature rupture of membranes, abruptio placentae (placenta separation from the uterus), and placenta previal (abnormal location of the placenta, which can cause massive hemorrhaging during delivery; smoking is also associated with a modest increase in risk for preterm delivery. Infants born to women who smoke during pregnancy have a lower average birth weight and are more likely to be small for gestational age than infants born to women who do not smoke. Low birth weight is associated with increased risk for neonatal, perinatal, and infant morbidity and mortality. He concluded that the longer the mother smokes during pregnancy, the greater the effect on the infant’s birth weight..

According to Zaridze (1986), tobacco use leads most commonly to diseases affecting the heart, liver and lungs. Smoking is a major risk factor for heart attacks,strokes,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) (including emphysemaandchronic bronchitis), andcancer(particularlylung cancer,cancers of the larynx and mouth, and pancreatic cancer). It also causes peripheral vascular disease and hypertension. The effects depend on the number of years that a person smokes and on how much the person smokes. Starting smoking earlier in life and smoking cigarettes higher intarincreases the risk of these diseases. Also, environmental tobacco smoke, or secondhand smoke, has been shown to cause adverse health effects in people of all ages. Tobacco use is a significant factor in miscarriages among pregnant smokers, and it contributes to a number of other health problems of the fetus such as premature birth,low birth weight, and increases  the chance of sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS).

Johanna, (2005) averts that “If people don’t know about the cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer, and perinatal diseases effects of tobacco use smoke exposure, they cannot understand how much or how quickly smokers are endangering not only their own lives, but those of family members, friends, co-workers or other non-smokers who breathe tobacco smoke. In countries like India or China, so many people are at high risk for heart attack or stroke, and it strikes at a relatively early age: risks of several diseases are far more present and immediate than most of the better-known fatal effects of tobacco use and secondhand smoke exposure. Knowing about cardiovascular, cancer, respiratory and perinatal risks of tobacco will help smokers take quitting seriously, and encourage people to demand and comply with policies that protect everyone from the harms of tobacco. The World Heart Federation calls on governments around the world to a make these policies an immediate priority, as they committed to do last year through the Political Declaration of the United Nations’ High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control smoke related Diseases.”

as a result of the above problems the researcher want to know weather the Civil Servants in Abakaliki metropolis have the Knowledge of some diseases caused by tobacco use.  Statement of the Problem

It is generally accepted that people do not know much about the risk of tobacco use and its effects on their health. They cannot understand how much or how quickly smokers are endangering not only their own lives, but those of family members, friends, co-workers or other non-smokers who breathe tobacco smoke. With  no knowledge of diseases caused by tobacco use, so many people are at high risk of cancer, cardiovascular, perinatal and respiratory diseases, and it strikes at a relatively early age; risks of these diseases are far more present and immediate than most of the better-known fatal effects of tobacco. Therefore, this study focused on knowledge of selected diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

1.2  Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of this study is to ascertain the knowledge of selected diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis. The specific purposes are;

1.     To determine the knowledge of cancer diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

2.     To determine the knowledge of cardiovascular diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

3.     To determine the knowledge of perinatal diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

4.     To determine the knowledge of respiratory diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

1.4 Significance of Study   

This research study is undertaken because of the ignorance in the use of tobacco. The study sought to find out the knowledge civil servants in Abakaliki Metropolis have on cardiovascular, perinatal, cancer and respiratory diseases caused by tobacco use. Therefore, the study will be beneficial to civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis, smokers, health policy makers, and health care givers and to the student who wishes to use it for further studies.

Civil servant will benefit from the study because it will provide information for them to read and understand the effects of tobacco use on their health. The study will also enlighten smokers on the risks of tobacco use and thereby motivating them to reduce or quit smoking. Health policy makers will benefit from the study because they will always rely on the findings of the study in making policies that will curb the excessive use of tobacco in the state.

1.5 Scope of the Study

This study will be delimited to civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis and their use of tobacco. Specifically, it will delimited to the following:

1.     Use of questionnaire as instrument for data collection.

2.     Use of frequencies and percentage for treatment of descriptive data and chi-square for testing the hypotheses at an alpha level of 0.5.

3.     Use of statistical package for social science (SPSS) for computing and inferential statistical analysis of all data collected.

4.     The variables of knowledge of cancer, cardiovascular, perinatal and respiratory disorders as being caused by tobacco use.

1.6 Research Questions       

Answers were sought to the following research questions:

1.     What is the knowledge of cancer diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis?

2.     What is the knowledge of cardiovascular diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis?

3.     What is the knowledge of perinatal diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis?

4.     What is the knowledge of respiratory diseases caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis?

1.7             Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were specifically tested:

H0:  1. There is no knowledge of cancer disease caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

H0:  2. There is no knowledge of cardiovascular disease caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

H0:  3. There is no knowledge of perinatal disease caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.

H0:  4. There is no knowledge of respiratory disease caused by tobacco use among civil servants in Abakaliki metropolis.