• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제17권10호
• /
• pp.4761-4767
• /
• 2016

Objective: The use of Shamma (smokeless tobacco) by certain groups is giving rise to health problems, including cancer, in parts of Saudi Arabia. Our objective was to determine metals levels in Shamma using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Methods: Thirty-three samples of Shamma (smokeless tobacco) were collected, comprising four types: brown Shamma (n = 14.0), red Shamma (n = 9.0), white Shamma (n = 4.0), and yellow Shamma (n = 6.0). All samples were collected randomly from Shamma users in the city of Najran. Levels of 11 elements (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were determined by ICP-MS. Results: A mixed standard (20 ppb) of all elements was used for quality control, and average recoveries ranged from 74.7% to 112.2%. The highest average concentrations were found in the following order: Al ($598.8-812.2{\mu}g/g$), Mn ($51.0-80.6{\mu}g/g$), and Ni ($23.2-53.3{\mu}g/g$) in all four Shamma types. The lowest concentrations were for As ($0.7-1.0{\mu}g/g$) and Cd ($0.0-0.06{\mu}g/g$). Conclusions: The colour of each Shamma type reflects additives mixed into the tobacco. Cr and Cu were showed significant differences (P < 0.05) among Shamma types. Moreover, Pb levels are higher in red and yellow Shamma, which could be due to use (PbCrO4) as yellow colouring agent and lead tetroxide, Pb3O4 as a red colouring agent. The findings from this study can be used to raise public awareness about the safety and health effects of Shamma, which is clearly a source of oral exposure to metals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제16권10호
• /
• pp.4335-4338
• /
• 2015

Background: Oral cancer is the third most common malignancy in Saudi Arabia, the highest incidence of which is reported from Jazan province. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of various locally used substances, especially shamma, with oral cancer in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was designed and patient records were scanned for histologically confirmed oral cancer cases. Forty eight patients who were recently diagnosed with oral cancer were selected as cases. Two healthy controls were selected for each observed case and they were matched with age (+/- 5 years) gender and location. Use of different forms of tobacco such as cigarettes, pipe-smoking and shamma (smokeless-tobacco) was assessed. Khat, a commonly used chewing substance in the community was also included. Descriptive analysis was first performed followed by multiple logistic regression (with and without interaction) to derive odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (CIs). Results: Mean age of the study sample (56% males and 44% females) was 65.3 years. Multinomial regression analysis revealed that shamma use increased the odds of developing oral cancer by 29 times (OR=29.3; 10.3-83.1). Cigarette (OR=6.74; 2.18-20.8) was also seen to have an effect. With the interaction model the odds ratio increased significantly for shamma users (OR=37.2; 12.3-113.2) and cigarette smokers (OR=10.5; 2.88-3.11). Khat was observed to have negative effect on the disease occurrence when used along with shamma (OR=0.01; 0.00 - 0.65). Conclusions: We conclude that shamma, a moist form of smokeless tobacco is a major threat for oral cancer occurrence in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. This study gives a direction to conduct further longitudinal studies in the region with increased sample size representing the population in order to provide more substantial evidence.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• 제8권5호
• /
• pp.657-665
• /
• 2021

The study aims to assess the acceptance of social commerce and participate in social commerce amongst Omani people. The questions of the survey Instrument were prepared in English later converted into Arabic. The survey instrument was having two parts; the first part sought the demographic information like age, gender, education, occupation etc. The second part of the instrument was related to the variables, which was in 5-point Likert scale, where 5 means strongly agree while 1 meaning strongly disagree. The data was collected using online and offline surveys, making the number of the valid responses to 478. A conceptual model was developed using the following variables. The selected variables such as "Familiarity" (F), "Trust" (T), "Perceived usefulness" (PU), "Perceived ease of use" (PEU), "Intention to Purchase" (IP). The hypothesis was tested using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that all six hypotheses were supported. The F, T and PEU, and PU was found to be positive and significant related to intention to purchase (p-value 0.003, 0.001, 0.000. & 0.007). Amongst the four, p value of F was found to be the lowest and PU was found to be the highest. This indicate F was strong indicator of IP as compared to others. PUE relates to PU, and F was related to IP.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권5호
• /
• pp.1913-1918
• /
• 2014

Background: The study is the first of its kind to be conducted in Saudi Arabia (KSA), aiming to analyze the effectiveness of an intervention program in improving the knowledge of oral cancer among the youth. Materials and Methods: A total of 1,051 young Saudis (57% males and 43% females with a mean age of $20.4{\pm}1.98$) were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. Knowledge assessment was accomplished using a closed-ended questionnaire which was subjected to reliability tests. Prevalence of risk factors in relation to gender was analyzed using the chi-squared test. Effectiveness was calculated by comparing the pre- and post-intervention means, using the two-tailed paired t-test. Multiple logistic regression was employed in order to determine factors associated with awareness of risk habits, signs/symptoms and prevention of oral cancer. The significance level in this study was set at 0.05. Results: Females were seen to be more into the habit of sheesha smoking (3.3% rather than the use of other forms of risk factors. Prevalence of diverse risk factors such as cigarette smoking (20%), sheesha (15.3%), khat (27%) and shamma (9%) was seen among males. Gender and the use of modifiable risk factors among the study sample were significantly (p<0.001) associated with effectiveness of the intervention. The intervention program was highly effective (p<0.001) in improving the knowledge of oral cancer among the youth in Jazan, KSA. Multivariate analysis revealed that age and gender are the most significant factors affecting knowledge. Conclusions: The study gives a direction for further public health initiatives in this oral cancer prone region.