A Study on the Pattern of Self-reported Tobacco Addiction in Hypertensive Patients in Gujarat, India

BACKGROUND: Both hypertension (HTN) and tobacco addiction pose a threat to the health, environment, and socioeconomic status (SES) of the people. When tobacco use disorder exists in people with HTN, it hastens the disease progress and causes early complications. The present study aimed to study the knowledge and practice of tobacco addiction in patients with HTN and find out the correlates of knowledge and practice of tobacco addiction. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of one year in the Jamnagar District of Western Gujarat, India. Out of total 400 samples, 50% were collected from the five selected Community Health Centers (CHCs) by random sampling and the rest from non-communicable disease (NCD) clinics at the tertiary care hospital of the district. FINDINGS: Most of the patients were in their fifties or above (67.0%), women (57.0%), and married (86.5%). Only 12.0% had awareness about the hazards of tobacco addiction and the prevalence of tobacco addiction was 11%. It was found that use of smokeless tobacco (SLT) among samples was the highest (72.7%) followed by dual consumption, i.e., SLT and smoking (20.5%). The frequency of consumption was ≥ 5 times/day in 54.5%, 70.4% were addicted for > 10 years, and only 15.9% had ever tried to quit tobacco while only 11.4% had successfully quit it. It was seen that those who were aged < 50 years, men, literates, employed, and those belonging to higher SES and urban residence had better knowledge of the health hazards. This was found to have significant statistical association. CONCLUSION: The results provide valuable insight into the tobacco addiction in patients with HTN on which non-pharmacological treatment of HTN can be based.