Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (doctoral)--Ludwig Maximilians-Universität zu München, 1979.

Introduction Hookah pipe smoking has experienced a prodigious growth in popularity during the past two decades resulting in the adoption of this centuries old practice by scores of new, and often young, smokers. This exposes more young people to the risk of developing tobacco-related diseases. This study aimed to explore hookah pipe smoking in young adults in a South African setting. Methods In this cross sectional study conducted at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 824 undergraduate students were enrolled from randomly selected classes. Students completed a 40 item self-administered questionnaire exploring participants‟ demographics, smoking behaviours, and knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to hookah pipe smoking. Univariate and multivariate analysis of factors associated with hookah pipe smoking behaviour were conducted. Results More than half the students (54.2%) had “ever” smoked a hookah pipe, while 14.7% were “current” (each of the past 3 months) smokers. On multivariate analysis, statistically significant factors associated with increased likelihood of “ever” using a hookah pipe were: being “White” (odds ratio [OR] 3.08, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.83-5.18) or “Indian” (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.07-3.72), previous cigarette use (OR 9.36, 95% CI 6.05-14.50), having a family member (OR 3.22, 95% CI 1.98-5.26) or friends (OR 7.16, 95% CI 3.96-12.92) who had smoked a hookah pipe and holding the following false beliefs regarding the adverse health effects associated with hookah pipe smoking: hookah pipes are not dangerous (OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.18-10.93), hookah pipes are not addictive (OR 7.39, 95% CI 3.84-14.23) and the second hand smoke produced by hookah pipes is not harmful to other people (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.02-4.72). “Current” hookah pipe smokers demonstrated poorer knowledge of the adverse health effects of hookah pipe smoking and held more positive attitudes of the practice compared to other students. Usage of hookah pipes tended to be intermittent with only 11.8% of students reporting daily use. The majority of “current” hookah pipe smokers (57.1%) smoked on the university campus. Adding alcohol and/or marijuana to hookah pipes was reported by just over half of the “current” hookah pipe users. Conclusion Hookah pipe smoking was prevalent among undergraduate students at this university. The study identified several factors associated with hookah pipe use, enabling the development of better targeted strategies to arrest this problem.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1942.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of Michigan, 1942.

Thesis(M.S.)--Auburn University, 2005. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.59-74).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 245 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-245).

ABSTRACT Background Smoking is undoubtedly a major risk factor for morbidity, disability and premature death. Its use results in grave health and economic losses not only to the individual but also to the population and the world at large. Many surveys have been done in South Africa to estimate the prevalence of smoking. It is therefore imperative and expedient to have an overall impression of the prevalence rates over time. And also it is important to assess how subgroups affect the prevalence and trends in the national population. This will be of help in determining which subgroups have achieved reduction in smoking prevalence and which have not; evaluating the tobacco control policies in the country; and in designing specific interventions. This research was undertaken to determine the trends and patterns of smoking in the South African adult population Objectives The objectives for this study were: Regarding the South African adult population during 1995 – 1998, to: 1. Compute the prevalence of smoking and assess the trends of smoking prevalence. 2. Assess the patterns and trends of smoking prevalence in subgroups by sex, age, marital status, race, locality (urban or rural), education and province. 3. Identify factors in the population that may account for patterns and trends in smoking prevalence over time 4. Make recommendations regarding the public health implications of the findingsMethods This was an analytical study involving secondary analysis of existing datasets from four South African representative national surveys. From 11 surveys, which measured smoking in the South African population, four surveys were selected using some inclusion and exclusion criteria. The population of interest was the South Africa adult population (18 – 49), so variables of interest (outcome variable was current smokers) for this group were extracted. Prevalence (frequency) rates estimation of smoking in the national population and in subgroups were then estimated. Unadjusted odds ratios and adjusted odds ratios were computed by bi-variate cross tabulation and multivariate logistic regression respectively. Time-trend analyses (Maentel Haenszel chi-squared test) were computed by logistic regression for trend in proportions Results From 1995 to 1997 about 1/3 of the adult South African population were smokers, but that dropped significantly to about ¼ in 1998. For the period however, there was no significant trend. The prevalence of smoking varied with, and was largely depended on population subgroup; while it was as high as 63.9% among Coloured males, 62.3% among Coloured females, 53.7 % among all males, 52.7% among rural males, it was as low as 11.4% among all females, 6.8% among rural females, 10.83% among Indian females and 5.06% among Black females. The only significant trends was an increasing smoking prevalence among Blacks, Coloured men, people with tertiary education, Free State and Gauteng provinces, age group 35 – 44; urban men and a decreasing smoking prevalence in all women, urban women and black women, age group 18 – 24 and the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Northen Cape and Mpumalanga provinces. Sex, race, age, and education were the major risk factors for smoking in the South African adult population. Locality (rural/urban) though had different smoking rate was not a risk factor for smoking. Marital status was neither a determinant nor risk factor for smoking. Discussion and Conclusion The prevalence of smoking in the South African adult population is very high and did not achieve any significant trend between 1995 and 1998. However the significant drop from 1997 to 1998 probably means that smoking prevalence in the national population may have started declining; therefore, more monitoring is needed to ascertain this. This high prevalence of smoking in the South African population, which may have been for years, may predict a high burden of chronic smoking-related diseases in the near future. The patterns of smoking analyses reveal that smoking in the South African adult population is determined by a complex interplay of different factors.