Abstract
Prevalence of chewable tobacco among adolescents has multiplied incite of ban on tobacco products. The study compares personality characteristics of 275 male and female users of chewable tobacco (gutkha, kharra) between 12 to 18 years using catell’s high school personality questionnaire. Significant differences were seen in intelligence levels with female users scoring less on intelligence (3.35) than male users (3.81). F females scored higher in expediency and evasion of rules (9.34) than males (10.38) and also had lower levels of self discipline and control (9.72) as compared to males (10.50). Programs for tobacco cessation need to build trust and rapport at initiation stage, target female users keeping in mind their more assertive self image and incorporate meaningful unstructured activities for them.
Highlights
Prevalence of chewable tobacco among adolescents has multiplied incite of ban on tobacco products
WHO estimates that tobacco use is currently responsible for the death of about six million people across the world each yeariThe majority of tobacco-related deaths are expected to occur in developing countries, where tobacco use is on the rise.ii In India tobacco is consumed in smoked and non smoked forms
In the present study the factor of sex served as the independent variable and the 14 personality dimensions of the High School Personality Questionnaire (Cattell 1984) were treated as the dependent variables
Summary
Prevalence of chewable tobacco among adolescents has multiplied incite of ban on tobacco products. The study compares personality characteristics of 275 male and female users of chewable tobacco (gutkha, kharra) between 12 to 18 years using catell’s high school personality questionnaire. In India tobacco is consumed in smoked and non smoked forms. Among the non smoked forms – chewable tobacco is consumed in the form of tobacco lime mixture, kharra, khaini, gutkha, pan masala, kimam and in the inhaled form as tobacco snuff. Pan masala is basically a preparation of areca nut, catechu, cardamon, lime and a number of natural and artificial perfuming and flavoring materials. With the emergence of commercial pan masala and gutkha about three decades ago, the Indian market witnessed massive growth in the sales of smokeless tobacco and areca nut products, and a huge worldwide export market. Enforcement of the law is generally lax and many shops still sell gutka, it may not be openly displayed
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