Assessment of knowledge, attitude, and practices and motivation to quit tobacco habits in relation to age and educational status among male tobacco users visiting a Government Dental College Hospital, India

Background: Tobacco use has become an epidemic of modern times. Its use is widespread among young adults and those from lower socioeconomic classes. Objective: The objective is to assess knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) and motivation to quit tobacco habits in relation to age and educational status among male tobacco users visiting a Government Dental College Hospital, India. Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire survey conducted among 199 male adult smokers visiting the Department of Public Health Dentistry in a Government Dental College in India. Quota sampling was used for recruiting the required number of study participants. Information on KAP related to smoking habits was collected using a predesigned structured questionnaire by two trained and calibrated dentists. Knowledge, attitude toward quitting and their self-confidence toward quitting was compared in relation to age and educational status using Chi-square test. Results: A higher percentage of younger adults aged 18–24 years were interested in quitting the habit (100%) compared to those aged 45–64 years (85.2%). Similarly, a higher percentage of young adults have tried quitting the habit (76.9%) compared to their older counterparts (64.8%) (P