International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences | April 2015 | Vol 3 | Issue 4 Page 921 International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences Shrivastava N et al. Int J Res Med Sci. 2015 Apr;3(4):921-924 www.msjonline.org pISSN 2320-6071 | eISSN 2320-6012 Research Article Prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among school going adolescent students of Raipur city Chhattisgarh state, India Neha Shrivastava 1 *, Nirmal Verma 2 , Dhiraj Bhawnani 2 , G. P. Soni 1 INTRODUCTION Tobacco use is one of the major preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the world. It currently accounts for over 4 million deaths annually, which is projected to rise to 10 million by 2030, with 70% of these deaths occurring in developing countries. This will make tobacco the largest cause of death in the world. 1,2 Tobacco is used in different forms and health effects are seen irrespective of the form in which it is used. Smokeless tobacco is found to be as addictive and harmful as smoking. ‘Gutka’ and ‘Pan masala with tobacco’ are a common smokeless forms of tobacco use. Smokeless tobacco especially has been associated with various oral diseases including cancer and adverse reproductive outcome. Adolescent and young adults are the future of all generations. They are the most vulnerable population to initiate use of smokeless tobacco because of its easy accessibility and availability. This use in children and adolescents is reaching pandemic levels. It is now well established that most of the adult users of tobacco ABSTRACT Background: Tobacco consumption in various forms in recent years is a proven risk factor and contributes substantially to the emerging epidemic. Increasing tobacco use and its impact on physical and psychosocial health is a worldwide public health concern affecting the early youth and whole life of the individuals. Tobacco is used in different forms and health effects are seen irrespective of the form in which it is used. Smokeless tobacco is found to be as addictive and harmful as smoking. Objectives: To assess the prevalence and factors influencing smokeless consumption among high school students in Raipur city. Methods: Study design: Cross-sectional, Study area: 16 selected high schools of Raipur city, in which 12 were government schools and 4 private schools. Study subjects: 1006 high-school students, Sampling technique: Two stage cluster sampling according to probability proportional to size, Study tool: Predesigned pretested questionnaire. Statistical analysis: Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet and analyzed in Epi info 7 software. Results: The mean age of students in the study was 15 years. The prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption was 10%. Majority male 80.9% were users, mean age of initiation was 13 years (SD 7.07), Peer pressure (76%) was the reason for initiation. Pocket money 57.1% found to be the major source of purchasing. Strong association of family member tobacco use and promotional advertisement were found. Conclusion: Study reflects smokeless tobacco use was prevalent among adolescent students and there is a need for targeted interventions to reduce the risk and deleterious consequences. Keywords: Adolescent, Prevalence, Tobacco consumption 1 Department of Community Medicine, Pt J N M Medical College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India 2 Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, India Received: 11 February 2015 Accepted: 03 March 2015 *Correspondence: Dr. Neha Shrivastava, E-mail: drneha.s1@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: 10.5455/2320-6012.ijrms20150420