Impac of knowledge about smoking habitsnin students on environmental sanitation control

Abstract

Air pollution due to smoking not only affects individuals, causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cancer, but also has a significant environmental impact. Objective: To develop knowledge about the harmfulness of smoking in environmental sanitation control in students of the Honorato del Castillo pre-university center in the period from September 2023 to June 2024. Methods: Quantitative research with a pre-experimental design with pre-test and post-test, contextualized in modifying knowledge about the harmfulness of smoking in students of the Honorato del Castillo pre-university center, in the municipality of Sancti Spíritus in the period from September 2023 to June 2024. Results: By applying an educational program, students managed to achieve satisfactory knowledge about the chemical components of cigarettes, the diseases caused by the habit of smoking, and the places harmed by smoking, also improving the understanding that smoking is harmful to specific organs, something that before the intervention was not clear. Conclusions: Educational intervention for smoking management was presented as a fundamental strategy to contribute to environmental sanitation and improve air quality, both in public and private spaces.