KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF: IMPLICATION FOR SMOKING PATTERN AMONG FIRSTHAND SMOKERS IN CALABAR AND UYO SOUTH, NIGERIA
Abstract:Smoking has remained a popular behavior among humans even in the 21
st century despite the several legitimate warnings against the practice. The study seeks to find out the relationship the between knowledge, belief and smoking pattern among firsthand smokers in Calabar and Uyo
Metropolis, South, South, Nigeria. To achieve this, the study adopts the descriptive survey
design with the snowballing sampling technique to secure data through questionnaire from the
376 respondents which constitutes its sample. The study found no significant relationship
between knowledge and smoking pattern, but a significant relationship between belief and
smoking pattern. In addition, the study found that Arizona is the most smoked substance in the
study area. Hence, it is recommended that the production and circulation of smoked
substances particularly the outlawed ones should be diligently checked with due sincerity by
Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency and its affiliates. Also, campaign against smoking should
be targeted towards convincing the populace about the health dangers of smoking rather than
just informing them.