Shisha smoking in Nigeria

Dissecting youth knowledge, awareness and perceptions (KAP) and health implicati

Abstract

The study aimed to dissect the young Nigerian’s, within the age of 18 – 35 years, Knowledge, Awareness, and Perceptions (KAP) of shisha smoking in Kaduna Metropolis. A semi-structured
questionnaire was administered to 259 youths, of whom 258 were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and ordinal logistic regression were used to examine the relationship between socio-demographic factors and shisha-related KAP. The findings showed that 28.29% of the participants, who were males in their 18 years, have tried using shisha. The study revealed that there exists a significant relationship between the participants’ age and level of education, and their level of awareness and perceptions of shisha’s harmfulness. However, no notable relationship was found with specific knowledge of shisha’s contents. Though a significant gap was identified in their knowledge about its harmful contents and health implications, a reasonable proportion of the youths regarded
shisha as less dangerous than cigarettes. It was, however, opined that the popularity of shisha among Nigerian youth was due to the lack of accurate information and misconceptions. The study calls for an urgent need for public health interventions to educate youths on the health risks associated with shisha.