Promotion of eco-friendly Diwali: A students' perspective

Background: Diwali is a major festival in India and is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervor. Due to bursting of firecrackers on large scale during Diwali releases harmful gases and toxic substances into the atmosphere leading to air pollution. It causes health problems for children, patients, and senior citizens. Objectives: The objective of this study was (1) To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of school-going students regarding the use of firecrackers. (2) To determine the prevalence of symptoms related to bursting of firecrackers among students and their families. (3) To find out the association between students' knowledge about health effects of firecrackers and their parents' education. Materials and Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was done by using self-administered, validated, and pretested pro forma. The study was conducted in all schools located within 250 m2 of distance from the urban health training center of a private medical college. There were three schools falling under these criteria. All 8th standard students (215) of these three schools were included in the study. Results: Out of the total, 77% were boys. Many, i.e. 63% of students burst firecrackers during Diwali. The majority of students, i.e. 67% have knowledge about health effects of firecrackers. The majority, i.e. 80% of students promote eco-friendly Diwali celebration. The use of firecrackers was highly significant among boys (<0.001) and whose parent's education was below graduate level (<0.001). Symptoms of cough (30%), shortness of breath (22%), and eye injuries (3%) were reported due to bursting crackers. Conclusions: Overall knowledge about health effects of crackers was higher among students whose father's education was graduate and above. Thus, students have a positive attitude toward eco-friendly Diwali celebration.