Prevalence and Attitude towards Smoking among Students in King Faisal University

Background smoking and the use of tobacco became a widespread practice by the late 1500s. Despite controversy as to the effects of smoking and bans on smoking by certain religious groups, the use of tobacco continued to increase. The global smoking epidemic is expected to remain as one of the greatest causes of premature death, disease, and suffering for decades to come. Smoking is considered a health hazard because tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a poisonous alkaloid, and other harmful substances such as carbon monoxide. The prevalence of current smoking in Saudi Arabia ranges from 2.4-52.3 %. Aim To study the prevalence and attitude toward smoking among students in King Faisal University, Ahsa. Methodology A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 200 male students. The participants were enrolled by simple random selection at the King Faisal University. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed and completed by each participant. Included questions about their smoking status, duration of smoking, and daily cigarette consumption. Result Out of 200 male students who complete the questionnaire, 134 (67 %) are smokers. Out of 72 % of all married participants are smokers, while 63.6 % of single participants are smokers.65 students (32.5 %) very strongly agreed that smoking affected level of activity, also 56 students (28 %) agreed for somewhat, 29 students (14.5 %) are not sure, while 50 students (25 %) denied any effect.168 students are aware about the negative health impact of smoking and 68.5 % of them (115) are smokers. All Smokers (100 %) didnt try to mentor for smoking treatment in specialized center. Conclusion Smoking has a high prevalence among students in King Faisal University, Ahsa. Married students are vulnerable for smoking more than single students. For unknown reason, smokers are aware well about the negative impact of smoking and continue.