A Comparative Study of Smoking Behavior (A Case Study between Indigenous Tharu and Migrated Brahmin People at Jhakanjhora tole, Madhesha VDC of Sunsari District)

Abstract

Smoking has become a form of social cancer that has become responsible for gradual loss of health status. People fall in smoking habit due to various psychological, sociological, cultural, and religious causes. There are various types of substances and apparatuses used in smoking. Some of the common substances are tobacco, marijuana, dhatura, and addictive drugs like hashish and heroin. Similarly, some common apparatuses are paper rolls, cigarettes, chilim, and hookah. A non-experimental, quantitative, and descriptive research design has been used to carry out the research study. In the study area, total populations of Tharus and Brahmins are 432 and 256 living with 89 and 63 families respectively. The major objective of this study is to give different prospects of smoking behaviors of Tharus and Brahmins. Tharus and Brahmins both belong to Aryan origin. Their languages, living areas, cultural and religious practices have various similarities. Their social integration in several parts of terrain areas shows peculiar characteristics of co-existences and harmony with each others. The smoking behavior is influenced by peoples’ sociocultural, religious, educational, and economic statuses. Though the substances and apparatuses used by Tharus and Brahmins are similar, there are remarkable differences between the smoking behaviors between Tharus and Brahmins. Majority of smokers smoke tobacco. There is higher smoking rate among Tharus than Brahmins in the study area. Most of the smokers prefer tobacco with the readymade cigarette/bidi apparatus. The traditional apparatus like chilim and hookah is used more among Tharus. The usage rate of marijuana, dhatura, and other illegal substances was found very low. The trend of consumption of different substances for smoking purpose among Tharus and Brahmins is similar within their certain age group. The frequency of smoking goes on increasing with increase in age among both the populations under study. Correlation Coefficient between the Smoking Rates among Tharus and Brahmins is very high (0.95). The findings are not only applicable for the study population but also for the other groups of populations having similar socio-economic, cultural and demographic compositions of populations.