Peer Pressure and Early Adoption of Arecanut and Smokeless Tobacco Among Schoolchildren: A Cross-Sectional Study in Public Health Dentistry

Early onset arecanut, ST use in children is a public health issue in India with significant implications for oral and general health. Peer pressure is a major factor in adolescent experimentation with these agents, but its importance among the pre-teen and young teen population is not well studied. Aim: This cross-sectional study aimed to correlate peer pressure with initiation of areca nut and smokeless tobacco among 10-15 years of school children. The study population comprised 1017 students consisting of 573 males (56.3%) and 444 females (43.7%) that were selected by stratified random sampling technique according to their schools. They were additionally inquired regarding arecanut/slt refusal based on a structured questionnaire, if offered by friends along with the extent of social permissiveness that is acceptability. Around 82.9% expressed that they will “definitely not” accept arecanut from a best friend (χ², p < 0.001).