%0 Journal Article
%T Tobacco use prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes among newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients in Penang State and Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
%A Ahmed Awaisu
%A Mohamad Haniki Nik Mohamed
%A Noorizan Abd Aziz
%A Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman
%A Noorliza Mohamad Noordin
%A Abdul Razak Muttalif
%A Aziah Ahmad Mahayiddin
%J Tobacco Induced Diseases
%D 2010
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1617-9625-8-3
%X Data were generated on prevalence rates of smoking among newly diagnosed TB patients in the State of Penang from January 2008 to December 2008. The data were obtained based on a review of routinely collated data from the quarterly report on TB case registration. The study setting comprised of five healthcare facilities (TB clinics) located within Penang and Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur health districts in Malaysia, which were involved in a larger project, known as SCIDOTS Project. A 58-item questionnaire was used to assess the tobacco use knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of those TB patients who were smokers.Smoking status was determinant in 817 of 943 new cases of TB from January to December 2008. Of this, it was estimated that the prevalence rates of current- and ex-smoking among the TB patients were 40.27% (329/817) and 13.95% (114/817), respectively. The prevalence of ever-smoking among patients with TB was estimated to be 54,220 per 100,000 population. Of 120 eligible participants for the SCIDOTS Project, 88 responded to the survey (73.3% response rate) and 80 surveys were analyzed (66.7% usable rate). The mean (¡À SD) total score of tobacco use knowledge items was 4.23 ¡À 2.66 (maximum possible score=11). More than half of the participants (51.3%) were moderately dependent to nicotine. A moderately large proportion of the respondents (41.2%) reported that they have ever attempted to quit smoking, while more than half (56.3%) have not. Less than half (47.5%) of the study participants had knowledge about the body system on which cigarette smoking has the greatest negative effect. The majority wrongly believed that smokeless tobacco can increase athletic performance (60%) and that it is a safe and harmless product (46.2%). An overwhelming proportion (>80%) of the patients believed that: smoking is a waste of money, tobacco use is very dangerous to health, and that smokers are more likely to die from heart disease when compared with non-smokers. The use of sm
%U http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.com/content/8/1/3