The impact of cigarette smoking education on knowledge and attitude of students in Tanzania: the case of Kinondoni district

Despite the increasing number of deaths associated with tobacco use and other health effects, the prevalence of smoking among adolescents is increasing worldwide. A quasi-experimental design, which uses a control group and pre- and post-test, was developed by this study to examine the Impact of Cigarette Smoking Education on the Knowledge and Attitude of Students. The respondents in this study were students from secondary schools in Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam Region. Their knowledge and attitude was assessed a by pre- and post-questionnaire, which contained tests and a Likert scale. The students were divided into control and experimental groups. A total of 292 students completed correctly the pre- and post- questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS 17 version. It was revealed that 7.2 percent students had smoked, of whom 9.6 percent were males and 4.8 percent were females. The prevalence of current smokers was found to be 2.4 percent. Both male and female students were found to have a negative attitude to cigarette smoking but, after experiment students in experimental group had more negative attitude to cigarette smoking. The score of students in the experimental group was significantly higher on knowledge on the effects of cigarette smoking than those in the control group and their attitude was decidedly negative. The results of this study showed that cigarette smoking education had improved students’ knowledge of the effects of smoking and so they had developed an unfavourable attitude to it. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that education on the effects of cigarette smoking should be implemented in our education system, from kindergarten to advanced level.