Children’s Idea about Cigarettes and Smoking

Abstract

Background: Tobacco smoking is attributed to pediatric disease and pediatric epidemics. This study aimed to indicate the attitudes of four- to six-year-old children toward cigarettes. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted by a questionnaire in 2011. Hundred and forty-five, children, aged four to six years, were randomly selected from eight kindergartens located in all four areas of Ahvaz. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze demographic data, Chi-square test to compare qualitative variables and Pearson correlation coefficient to compare quantitative data. Results: Results of the study showed that 76.4% of children knew what a cigarette is; 41.2% had talked about smoking with their parents; 1.4% had asked to buy one due to the attractive appearance of cigarette packs; 27.8% imitated the act of smoking. Children’s attitude toward smoking showed that 1.4% of them took smoking as a good act, 91.4% believed that smoking was a bad act and 7.1% had no idea about smoking. Conclusions: Since parents’ behaviors affect their children, it is advisable to implement effective interventional programs to increase parents’ awareness about smoking and its harmful environmental effects.