The study will investigate
smoking behavior and attitudes among two groups of male students: the first
will consist of a number of students selected from the graduation level of
different subjects; the second will include the students from the level of post
graduation. Data will be collected largely by interview supplemented by some
direct observation and relevant secondary data. The study will aim to identify
the depth of the prevalence of smoking among the students of the University of
Dhaka, the largest and greatest university of Bangladesh.
The study will be
conducted through the method of Interview in which I as a researcher will ask
some questions that will be answered by the respondents who I will select for
the study. The crucial questions will be like that – How old are you? Do your
father, mother or any other members of your family smoke? Though you are a
student, do you have any income source? When have you started smoking? Is there
any specific reason that forces you to smoke? How many cigarettes do you
consume in a day? Do you have any knowledge about the bad impact of smoking on
your health? How much do you spend for smoking daily? Do your family members
know about your addiction to smoking? What makes you smoke? The study, I hope
that, will be more effective and the issue of smoking is a crucial one for
social research.
Smoking is now
recognized as a major public health problem in the developing world. Despite this,
there is a dearth of relevant data on smoking prevalence and on the
characteristics and attitudes of smokers: in particular, studies are lacking
among teenagers and young adults, the group in which the habit frequently
begins. Smoking is a global public health concern. About 1.1 billion people
smoke worldwide, which is expected to rise to more than 1.6 billion by 2025. It causes huge premature deaths and poses considerable economic
burden among the poor people especially living in developing countries like
Bangladesh. Worldwide the toll of tobacco is already high
(Gavin, 2004). Unfortunately the low and middle income countries will
experience more tobacco-attributable deaths in future decades. Worldwide tobacco-attributable
deaths were 4.83 million in 2000, which are projected to
reach at 6.4 million in 2015 and 8.3 million in 2030. In the low- and middle
income countries such deaths are projected to increase from 3.4 million to 6.8
million between 2002 and 2030. Bangladesh, a third world,
country is a smoking affected zone. Very recent survey reports reveal this very
significantly. For instance, a very recent survey by “Campaign for Clean Air”
reveals that 71.79% of total male population aged above 18 is addicted to
smoking in Bangladesh. Of which 44% starts from early age and the rest 56% from
the age of 18. This survey is carried on in various locations including Dhaka
University campus. But there is a lack of complete research in the campus
separately. For this reason, I have chosen to carry out my research on smoking
prevalence in the campus of the University of Dhaka. International studies have
addressed the prevalence of smoking among students despite their knowledge on
the hazardous impact of smoking on health. Smoking related diseases such as
pulmonary diseases, stroke, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer and oral cancer
are well documented in literature. In the regions
where the tuberculosis is prevalent, smokers have greater risk of dying from
pulmonary tuberculosis as compared to non-smokers. Tobacco
related illnesses accounted for 16% of the total deaths among the general
population of Bangladesh who are aged 30 years and above.
Smoking is also positively linked with the illicit drug use in Bangladesh,
which is another public health concern. The cost of
tobacco consumption at the national level is found to be associated with the
increased health-care costs, loss of productivity due to illnesses and early
deaths and environmental damages. In order to protect our student society, this
study will be informative and effective.
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