Source: Annual Congress 2012 - Tobacco and shisha exposure in children and adolescents
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

Purpose
This study aimed to assess the rate of tobacco consumption among professional athletes in Iran and assessing their knowledge and attitude in this regard.
Materials and Methods: A total of 738 athletes from 10 different types of sports were evaluated. Athletes were all members of the priority leagues. After obtaining consent from the Physical Education Organization and coordination with the related federations, athletes were asked to fill out the standard questionnaire.
Findings: All understudy subjects were males. The mean age was 28.4±2.7 yrs. A total of 46.7% had high school diploma. In general, 293 subjects (39.7%) were playing individual and 445 (60.3%) were playing team sports. The mean age of initiation of sport in these subjects was reported to be 12.3±4.01 yrs... Sixty four subjects (9%) were current smokers. Twenty one cases (44.7%) were smoking less than 10 cigarettes a day. A total of 26 (66.7%) current smokers stated that smoking helps them in sport competitions. A total of 40 sportsmen from individual sports were current smokers, this rate was 24 (5.5%) among team players (P=0.00). The mean score of knowledge about hazards of smoking was 7.8±0.62 and the mean score of attitude was 26.4±4.1
Conclusion: Rate of smoking among professional athletes is lower than general population average. So participation in organized sports may be a protective factor against tobacco use in people. Percentage of smoker athletes was significantly higher in individual sports compared to team sports. Athletes had good knowledge about hazards of smoking and had a positive attitude in this respect. Further studies are needed to evaluate reasons of cigarette and hookah smoking among athletes.

Rating:

Share or cite this content

Citations should be made in the following way:
Z. Hessami, H. Sharifi, G. Heydari, M. Masjedi, M. Aryanpur (Tehran, Islamic Republic Of Iran). Behavior, knowledge and attitude of Iranian professional athletes towards smoking. Eur Respir J 2012; 40: Suppl. 56, 4055

Member's Comments

No comment yet.

Related content which might interest you: Shisha smoking among medical students and doctors. There knowledge attitude and perceptions Source: Annual Congress 2010 - Epidemiological data for smoking control Year: 2010 Knowledge and attitudes about smoking habit among medical students Source: Eur Respir J 2005; 26: Suppl. 49, 609s Year: 2005 The knowledge and attitude of Turkish general practitioners about smoking cessation Source: Eur Respir J 2006; 28: Suppl. 50, 475s Year: 2006 Comparison of smoking habits and attitudes between Greek and Italian medical students Source: Annual Congress 2009 - Tobacco and health professionals Year: 2009 Smoking behaviours, beliefs, and attitudes of medical students in Brazil Source: Annual Congress 2009 - Tobacco and health professionals Year: 2009 Comparing smoking cessation behavior, attitudes and knowledge between physicians and nurses Source: International Congress 2019 – Tobacco cessation interventions in different settings and populations Year: 2019 Comparing smoking cessation behaviour, attitudes and knowledge between trained and non-trained healthcare professionals Source: International Congress 2016 – Smoking cessation strategies Year: 2016 Attitudes of school staff towards smoking Source: Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 136s Year: 2002 Smoking behaviour and attitude towards smoking in austrian teenagers. Influence of social environment, gender and education Source: Annual Congress 2009 - Smoking habits and prevention in young people Year: 2009 Patterns and attitudes of Spanish health science students who smoke Source: Annual Congress 2010 - Epidemiological data for smoking control Year: 2010 Attitudes and knowledge of Greek midwives on smoking cessation Source: International Congress 2016 – Smoking-related diseases Year: 2016 Smoking behaviour and attitude of medicine students towards tobacco use Source: Eur Respir J 2003; 22: Suppl. 45, 492s Year: 2003 Comparing behavior, attitude and knowledge about smoking cessation between smoking and non-smoking healthcare professionals Source: International Congress 2016 – Smoking cessation strategies Year: 2016 The attitude of medical workers to smoking Source: Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 520s Year: 2002 Smoking prevalence, associated attitudes and comparison of negative automatic thoughts among high school students in Turkey Source: International Congress 2015 – Epidemiology, public health and economics of tobacco Year: 2015 University students‘ attitudes and knowledge toward smoking Source: Eur Respir J 2005; 26: Suppl. 49, 610s Year: 2005 Smoking status, knowledge and attitudes toward smoking cessation among general hospital worker Source: International Congress 2017 – Smoking cessation Year: 2017 Smoking practice and attitude among kindergarten staff Source: Eur Respir J 2006; 28: Suppl. 50, 471s Year: 2006 Evaluation of knowledge, attitude and prevalence of smoking status among sportsmen of national teams of Iran, 2008 Source: Annual Congress 2010 - Epidemiological data for smoking control Year: 2010 Attitude of health workers towards the problem of smoking Source: Eur Respir J 2003; 22: Suppl. 45, 491s Year: 2003