Kulkarni Muralidhar M, Bains Manpreet, Kamath Veena G, Bassi Shalini, Arora Monika, Ballala Kirthinath, Bhagawath Rohith, Bantwal Priyanka, Bogdanovica Ilze, Britton John
Deptartment of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India.
UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Glob Health Action. 2025 Dec;18(1):2491195. doi: 10.1080/16549716.2025.2491195. Epub 2025 May 15.
Tobacco use has resulted in a staggering number of illnesses and premature deaths worldwide. India has the world's second-highest level of tobacco consumption. The study aimed to explore the reasons of initiation among adolescents and understand community stakeholders' perceptions about the current tobacco control policies and challenges faced in implementing it for youth along with future recommendations.
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted with adolescents in grades 7th-9th, teachers, parents, and police officers, along with in-depth interviews (IDI) with tobacco vendors. These were digitally audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.
Twenty-two focus groups were conducted with adolescents, 10 with parents, 10 with teachers ( = 83), 5 with police ( = 42) and 10 tobacco vendors completed one-to-one interviews. Stakeholders identified gaps in tobacco control policy implementation and recommended stricter enforcement. Solutions such as modifying on-screen health warnings, developing novel ways like live demonstration of patients suffering from tobacco use which creates awareness about tobacco harms, countering tobacco industry marketing strategies, restricting tobacco product sales, lowering affordability, and prominently displaying tobacco-free film rules were recommended.
The study provides a thorough understanding of factors that lead to tobacco initiation and stakeholder's opinion on youth-related tobacco legislation that provides direction for strengthening existing tobacco control efforts. There is a need for novel ways to educate the child's microenvironment, specifically in school and family environment. The findings also emphasize the importance of multi-sector involvement and better enforcement of tobacco control laws.
在全球范围内，烟草使用已导致大量疾病和过早死亡。印度的烟草消费量位居世界第二。本研究旨在探究青少年开始吸烟的原因，了解社区利益相关者对当前烟草控制政策的看法，以及在针对青少年实施该政策时所面临的挑战，并提出未来建议。
对七年级至九年级的青少年、教师、家长和警察进行了焦点小组讨论（FGD），并对烟草摊贩进行了深入访谈（IDI）。这些访谈均进行了数字录音并逐字转录。数据采用归纳主题分析法进行分析。
与青少年进行了22次焦点小组讨论，与家长进行了10次，与教师进行了10次（n = 83），与警察进行了5次（n = 42），并对10名烟草摊贩完成了一对一访谈。利益相关者指出了烟草控制政策实施中的差距，并建议加强执法力度。还提出了一些解决方案，如修改屏幕健康警告、开发新的方式，如现场展示吸烟患者以提高对烟草危害的认识、对抗烟草行业的营销策略、限制烟草产品销售、降低可承受性以及显著展示无烟电影规则等。
本研究全面了解了导致青少年开始吸烟的因素以及利益相关者对与青少年相关的烟草立法的看法，为加强现有烟草控制工作提供了方向。需要采用新的方式来教育儿童的微观环境，特别是在学校和家庭环境中。研究结果还强调了多部门参与和更好地执行烟草控制法律的重要性。
