Assessment of Respiratory Morbidity and Epidemiological Survey of Tobacco Smokers and Non-Smokers Among Educated Young Adults in Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan: A Case Study

Abstract

Tobacco smoking among adults have become a serious health concern worldwide due to its increasing addicting nature. Tobacco smoke contains highly harmful gaseous and volatile chemical substances that impair the respiratory system and reduce lung function capacity. The study's primary objectives were to investigate the cause of smoking, behaviour of smokers, social responsibility, family history of the smoker, and significant respiratory health problems among young educated adults. The survey was conducted with some pre-framed questionnaires and screening relevant to the subjects for our study. The respiratory health assessment was carried out by questionnaire-based personal interviews for different respiratory and non-respiratory health symptoms. Subsequently, the lung function or pulmonary function test (LFT or PFT) for selected individuals was performed, revealing the lung performances of smokers and non-smokers. The LFT or PFT test predicts the normal and abnormal breathing patterns of exposed and non-exposed studied groups. The significant findings indicated that curiosity (72%) and displaying of smartness were the leading cause of smoking in early adulthood (16 to 20 years). Family history of smoking also influenced young adults to initiate regular smoking. Smoking within thirty minutes after waking up in the morning was - a habit in 52% of smokers. Findings revealed that 50% of the heavy smokers smoke 11-15 units daily. The average weekly expenditure for the smoking materials was INR 100 to 150 (26.32%) rupees for smokers. Spirometric indices such as forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), percentage forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%), and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), showed a reduced performance of lungs in smokers as compared to their fellow non-smokers. This study has focused on the smoking behaviour of educated young adults and revealed the presence of different respiratory symptoms in smokers than non-smokers, which is an immerging health issue. The study revealed that smokers grouped are more susceptible to lung diseases than non-smokers in the future due to their reduced lung function capacity compared to non-smokers.