Knowledge about the relationship between smoking and blindness among the population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objective: To assess the level of awareness of visual loss and other smoking-related diseases and their impact on the motivation for smoking cessation among the general population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on the general adult population in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study was conducted using a questionnaire and Google Sheets to send the questionnaire to the individuals. Results: A total of 717 questionnaires were valid for analysis; there were 66.7% males, and 30.1% were in the age range of 18-25 years. There were 24.8% smokers, with 34.8% who smoked for more than 10 years. Around 55.1% participants had high knowledge, whereas 44.9% had insufficient knowledge. The level of knowledge was considerably associated with gender (p = 0.015), smoking status (p = 0.0001), and smoking duration (p = 0.036). Conclusion: A moderate level of knowledge was found among participants; gender, smoking status, and smoking duration were determinants of the level of knowledge.