Author: Walid Abdulkadir Osman Alsh’bani

Mogadishu University Journal, 2014

Abstract

Cigarette smoking, hereafter referred to as “smoking” is the main reason behind premature death in developed countries. Smoking is currently considered one of the greatest health problems worldwide, and it is one of the most preventable causes of death. There were no studies according to the knowledge of author conducted in Somalia to determine the health effects of cigarette smoking in the study area. The study aims to find out the impact of cigarette smoking on the health among men in Mogadishu city. A cross sectional study was used. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the respondents at a cluster sampling.

Quantitative data analysis was used. This study took into consideration 295 respondents as sample size to determine feasible findings about topic under the study. In general, 37.5% of the participants were cigarette smokers. The prevalence of khat chewing is high among participants aged 20 - 29 years in study. The health effects on cardiovascular as reported by the participants include chest pain, rapid heartbeat, asthma, heart attack and hypertension. There is another effect to the oral cavity, as described by the respondents which may affect the appearance of the teeth and tissues, such as tooth decay, tooth stains, bad breath, and stomatitis and tooth discoloration. Greater efforts in practicing primary and secondary prevention among current and future physicians to solve the health problems associated with tobacco use in the country is needed as well as increasing public awareness of the potential health hazards of cigarette smoking.