Role of Socio-Economic Status in Cigarette Smoking Tendency of Youths

Smoking is considered as one of the most common health impairing behaviors involving recreational drug use, in which tobacco is burned and the smoke is tasted or inhaled. Health professionals have identified cigarette smoking (in which the active drug is nicotine) as a most serious preventive health problem of youths worldwide. The study examines the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in smoking tendency of youths. The study was carried out with 75 male youths, who represented lower, middle, and high SES. The age of participants ranged from 19 to 25 years, and they resided in the rural and urban areas of Varanasi. Participants were given the measures of socio-economic status and smoking urges. Analysis revealed that youths of lower and higher SES, exhibited greater smoking tendencies as compared to those of middle SES. The findings are discussed and their implications are pointed out.