Yakiwchuk Carol-Ann P, Stasiuk Hans, Wiltshire William, Brothwell Douglas J
Centre for Community Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
J Can Dent Assoc. 2005 Jun;71(6):403.
Tobacco use remains a major cause of preventable illness and death in North America. Although reported smoking rates have decreased, they remain high among the young and among Aboriginal people. As part of an oral health promotion project, a convenience sample of 163 Aboriginal athletes participating in the 2002 North American Indigenous Games completed a self-administered questionnaire addressing tobacco use and knowledge of tobacco effects. Mean age of athletes was 19.6 years (SD 7.4); most were male and Canadian citizens. Only 22 participants reported current smoking; past use of tobacco was more common, with 58 reporting a history of smoking. Although age was not associated with current smoking, older athletes were significantly more likely (p <or=0.05) to have smoked. Twenty-three athletes reported ever using smokeless tobacco, with 9 reporting current daily use. Athletes were knowledgeable about tobacco effects on oral health. This study shows substantially lower tobacco use among this group of young Aboriginal athletes than the North American average. These findings suggest that participation in organized sports may be a protective factor against tobacco use in a population known to have high smoking rates.
在北美，吸烟仍是可预防疾病和死亡的主要原因。尽管报告的吸烟率有所下降，但在年轻人和原住民中仍然很高。作为口腔健康促进项目的一部分，一个由163名参加2002年北美原住民运动会的原住民运动员组成的便利样本完成了一份关于吸烟情况和烟草影响知识的自填问卷。运动员的平均年龄为19.6岁（标准差7.4）；大多数是男性和加拿大公民。只有22名参与者报告目前吸烟；过去吸烟的情况更为常见，有58人报告有吸烟史。虽然年龄与目前吸烟无关，但年龄较大的运动员吸烟的可能性显著更高（p≤0.05）。23名运动员报告曾使用无烟烟草，其中9人报告目前每天使用。运动员了解烟草对口腔健康的影响。这项研究表明，这群年轻的原住民运动员的吸烟率大大低于北美平均水平。这些发现表明，参与有组织的体育活动可能是已知吸烟率较高人群中预防吸烟的一个保护因素。
