One out of every three youths who visit bars in Kampala smoke shisha/ water pipe tobacco with the majority of them initiating the habit by age of 23 years. This is according to a study carried out by Christine Aanyu, a Masters Research Student of Makerere University School of Public Health. The study that focused on knowledge, attitudes and practices of shisha smoking among youths in Kampala was one of the tobacco control researches carried out under the CTCA Research Grant Project implemented in partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
The project that started in 2013 is aimed at building capacity for research in tobacco control in Africa with a view of providing evidence to drive Tobacco Control Policy and legislation. During the first cohort, five grants were awarded to Masters Students from three Schools of Public Health under the Public Health Alliance. Under the Health Alliance the participating Universities include Moi University and University of Nairobi in Kenya, Jimma University in Ethiopia, Muhimbili University in Tanzania, National University of Rwanda, and Makerere University Kampala, Uganda.
The research findings of the first cohort were released during a dissemination workshop at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala, June 16-17, 2015. Officiating at the dissemination, the Director General (DG) of Health Services at the Ministry of Health ( MOH) Uganda Dr. Jane Aceng hailed the efforts of CTCA and IDRC to enhance tobacco control research capacity in Africa. The DG who was represented by the head of the NCD Department at MOH, Dr. Gerald Mutungi stressed that the research findings are not only useful in providing the much needed local evidence, but that the related policy briefs will greatly promote utilization of the results at policy level since they are presented in a palatable way to the policy makers.
In other findings, it was revealed that in Ethiopia, exposure to second hand smoke at public places is very high with 7 in every 10 adolescents being exposed, totaling about 12 million young people. The study carried out by Nebiyu Dereje (MPHE) and Sabit Abazinab (MPH) of Jimma University College of Health Sciences: Prevalence and predictors of tobacco use among adolescents in Ethiopia was conducted among school going adolescents in public and private schools. The study further established that exposure to movies with actors that smoke; greatly influenced initiation of tobacco use among the youths.
In another study, it was established that 35% of pregnant women in Arua District are exposed to second hand smoke in their homes. Arua is one of Uganda’s leading tobacco growing districts. The study was carried out by Apoto Naomi an MPH Officer at the Makerere University School Of Public Health, whose research focused on Tobacco use and second hand smoke exposure among pregnant women in Arua District . The Research findings further revealed that 5% of the pregnant women in Arua District use tobacco, twice as much as the national average of 2.3% (UDHS 2011).
In Kenya, the Student from the University of Nairobi School of Public Health, Dr. Judy Gichuki, undertook a study on Health Workers knowledge, attitude and practice of smoking cessation interventions in Public Health Facilities in Kiambu county in Kenya. The findings point to the fact that public health facilities are a good entry point for tobacco cessation services in Africa because majority of the health care providers were reported to be willing to provide the services if trained and given the necessary information.
CTCA Manager, Dr. Possy Mugyenyi hailed the grantees for a job well done, adding that the findings will be disseminated widely to ensure increased utilization by the various Tobacco Control Programs. He revealed plans to set up a Tobacco Control Research Group for Africa and urged the grantees to undertake further training in tobacco control.
The CTCA Project Coordinator and Technical Advisor Monitoring and Evaluation, Ms. Kellen Nyamurungi said the findings will further be used to develop tools and document best practices to support policy and legislation in Africa.
During the dissemination, the selected students for the 2nd cohort also shared their research areas covering wide ranging topics.