Smoking behavior of males attending the quit tobacco clinics in Bahrain and their knowledge on tobacco smoking health hazards.

BACKGROUND: One third of Bahraini adult (20-64 years) males and 7.0% of females use some form of tobacco. The corresponding rates for cigarette and waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) are 11.0% and 6.0%, respectively. The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge on tobacco smoking and past smoking related behavior of male patients attending the Quit Tobacco Clinics (QTC) in Bahrain. METHODS: A sample of 339 male clinic attendees was taken proportional to the population distribution in the three QTC at Al Hoora Health Center, Hamad Kanoo Health Center, and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait Health Center. Data collection was performed until the sample size was completed (September 2015 to December 2016). Knowledge on the health effects of cigarette and WTS was examined based on 10 statements on cigarette and similar ones on WTS. Respondents "agreeing" with the statements were considered knowledgeable and those "disagreeing" or responding "don't know", not knowledgeable. All the "agree" responses for cigarette/WTS were summed across the 10 health effects and average health knowledge scores for cigarette/WTS were computed. RESULTS: Most of the study participants were Bahraini nationals, ever married and educated with at least secondary level. The majority (65.8%) of participants smoked a single type of tobacco product, and the rest, two (28.0%) or three or more (6.2%). Age of starting cigarette and WTS was 16.2 ± 4.0 and 19.3 ± 6.7 years, respectively. The majority (81%) smoked in the presence of other family members and 26.3% in the presence of a child. 76.2% smoked in the presence of others in their cars. 18.9% of the attendees had quit smoking at the time of interview. 81% of the participants knew about the hazards of both cigarette and WTS with a significantly higher (p = 0.0001) mean knowledge score for cigarette (93.3 ± 3.0%) than WTS (85.2 ± 2.1%). CONCLUSION: The relative lack of knowledge on the hazards of WTS in a sample of Arab country population with an increasing trend of WTS warrants the attention of health policy makers in the country and region.

Quit tobacco clinics in Bahrain: smoking cessation rates and patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND: One third of Bahraini adult males and 7.0% of females use all types of tobacco. The prevalence rates of cigarette and shisha smoking are 11.0 and 6.0%, respectively. Tobacco cessation programs are essential to help smokers quit. The objectives of this study were to determine the quit rates among male attendees of quit tobacco clinics (QTC) in Bahrain and describe related factors. METHODS: We used a cross sectional study design to interview194 male tobacco smokers who had received care from two QTC. Patients who consulted these clinics within the year preceding the study were eligible to be included. They were interviewed using a structured and pretested questionnaire containing questions on tobacco smoking behavior and quitting experience. RESULTS: Overall, 56.5% had quit all forms of tobacco after attending the QTC with shisha smokers being more successful in quitting than cigarette smokers. About 93.0% received nicotine replacement treatment along with counseling sessions. More than three visits to the clinics and previous quit attempts of 21 months duration or more were statistically significantly related to successfully quitting all types of tobacco (p < 0.05). Most participants were satisfied with the clinics; however the majority wanted longer opening hours and an increase in the working days of the clinic. Physicians referred only 18.0% of the study population to QTC. CONCLUSION: A high tobacco-quit rate among smokers seeking treatment at QTC is encouraging and indicates that the clinics contributed to tobacco cessation in Bahrain. Counselling sessions and more frequent visits to QTC helped participants to successfully quit tobacco.