Health communication, culture and the 'glamourised' killer : assessing youth's knowledge and perceptions of hubbly bubbly smoking risks at a South African university

Abstract

Hubbly Bubbly smoking is a visibly growing trend among young people globally. However, health promotion about the risks that result from hubbly bubbly smoking has not been vigilant so far. The study attempts to determine youth’s knowledge and perceptions towards the health risks incurred from smoking the HB. The study triangulates three theories namely: The Extended Parallel Process Model, Peer Cluster Theory and Hofstede’s Cultural Theory using a mixed method approach among University of Limpopo students. A sample of 350 students was used, made up of n=175 HB users and n=175 non-users. In the quantitive part of the study, a 2 x 2 between and within respondents design was followed. Most HB users 74% (129) and non-users 80% (140) identified lung cancer as the health risk of HB smoking. Participants perceived HB smoking health risks as exaggerated, and that HB is less addictive and less harmful. The majority of participants (75%) had not heard or seen any health communication awareness campaigns about HB risks. Focus group interviews revealed that participants perceived HB as less harmful, less expensive with no visible health warning and not addictive to every user. Findings suggest that there is inadequacy in terms of knowledge as well as negative perceptions towards HB and its health risks. There should be more health communication campaigns that will engage the youth and the public, and the media should speak more about HB and its health risks. The study contributes to the body of knowledge about health communication campaigns about existing problems.