Essay on Youths' Increase in Hookah Smoking: Early Exposure & Mythical Beliefs

The Increase of Consumption of Hookah in Adolescents and Young Adults Due to Early Exposure and Mythical Beliefs

Adolescents are at a critical stage of development, and they have higher chances of engaging in the use of hookah. Most adolescents are susceptible to sliding into smoking hookah because of their positive believes concerning hookah smoking and the influence of family members and friends. In recent years, cigarette smoking has been declining among the youths, but on the contrary, there has been increasing use of other products of tobacco, including the use of hookah. As a result, there has been a rising concern because of their harmful chemical constituents. Because of the increasing use of hookah among adolescents, there is a need to show interest primarily to the adolescents affected with pediatric asthma.

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Hookah results in pathophysiological damages to the breathing system, which results in inflammation. When children or adolescents smoke hookah, they are linked to a potential increase in the risk of getting infected with new-onset asthma. Several studies have indicated that asthmatic adolescents have shown a higher hookah smoking rate than adolescent groups without asthma. The main reason for conducting this survey was mainly to show the hookah consumption rate among students, especially those that are already diagnosed with asthma. The study led to an assessment of households' perceptions and beliefs about the use of hookah among adolescents affected by asthma and adolescents without asthma. The study hypothesis was that there would be a higher number of asthmatic adolescents who have used hookahs and have had more positive beliefs than other adolescent peers without asthma.

Methods

This study adopted data from 2014 FYTS, which is a school-based questionnaire issued to the public schools of Florida at the ending of every year since 1998. For random accuracy sampling, the survey ensured that every student had an equal chance of being selected to fill the questionnaire in a two-stage cluster probability model. Parents were reached through issuing of permission forms, which enabled them to fill and sign on behalf of their children. The survey considered a variety of measures, which included the sex of participants, race, and grades. The study administered two questions concerning ethnicity, and students were required to choose one. To identify several beliefs about hookah, students were asked about the conformability of using hookah in public. To determine the causes of asthma, the students were asked about their previous asthmatic medical conditions. These questions were carefully selected to identify those who are currently asthmatic. The data was weighted to ensure to inclusivity of all the participants.

Results

At the end of the study, students who were diagnosed with asthma indicated increased current hookah consumption (16.0%) than the students who were free from asthma (14.0%). In most cases, the asthmatic students have a history of having stayed with households with a previous record of using a hookah. On the contrary, students without asthma showed higher exposure to some of the other kinds of products of tobacco like cigarettes. The multivariate logistic regression that adjusted for demographic factors including races, sex and grades showed that the asthmatic students have a higher prevalence for hookah

Discussion

This study assessed the current prevalence of hookah smoking among adolescent students. The findings gathered from the research were that the increasing asthma status is as a result of the use of hookah. Adolescents with asthma showed a higher prevalence of hookah consumption of other tobacco products. Also, adolescents diagnosed with asthma were reported to be from households with a history of hookah as compared with other adolescents without asthma. Among the adolescents in selected high schools diagnosed to be asthmatic reported higher positive perceptions concerning fitness, which might result in more top cases of hookah smoking in the future. As a result, health professionals and rehabilitators should come up with precise assessments for hookah smoking and engage hooker smokers in changing attitudes and cessation programs.

Conclusion

Most of the asthmatic adolescents consider smoking hookah because they believe that hookah makes them fresh and fit. This attitude can only be changed by the efforts of health professionals and rehabilitators in providing life-changing assessments for hookah smoking.

References

Amrock, S. M., & Weitzman, M. (2015). Adolescents Perceptions of Light and Intermittent Smoking in the United States. Pediatrics, 135(2), 246-254. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-2502

Gostin, L. O., & Glasner, A. Y. (2014). E-Cigarettes, Vaping, and Youth. Jama, 312(6), 595. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.7883

Gilliland, F. D., Islam, T., Berhane, K., Gauderman, W. J., Mcconnell, R., Avol, E., & Peters, J. M. (2006). Regular Smoking and Asthma Incidence in Adolescents. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 174(10), 1094-1100. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200605-722oc