Socioeconomic Characteristics of Tobacco Users among Undergraduate College Students in Bandung City, Indonesia

Substance use remain the biggest public health threats due to health and socio-economy consequences affecting both individual and other people. One of the substances is tobacco products, which is the most frequently used substance among young people. Youth are a major human resource for country's development. Findings reported substance use among youth kept increasing over the period, putting youth in a greater risk of developing physical disease, disabilities, and even death. Socioeconomic status are predictors of health outcome and better understanding is required to plan better intervention and policy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on May – June 2022 in two universities in Bandung City, Indonesia. Through online questionnaire, sociodemographic data was collected as well as the screening of tobacco products use among college students. Chi-square and Fisher exact test in SPSS version 22 were used to analyze the association between socioeconomic status with tobacco use behavior. Results: 36.4% of college students were lifetime smokers, and 20.2% used tobacco in past month period. Most of the smokers were male respondents (60.6%) in lifetime period. Sex (p<0.000), religion (p<0.05), ethnicity (p<0.05), and type of university (p<0.05) were significantly associated with lifetime tobacco use. Sex (p<0.000) and religion (p<0.010) were also associated with tobacco use in the past month. Meanwhile, the economic characteristics such as monthly stipend or household income did not show any significant association with tobacco use in any period. Conclusion: Findings reveal that sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, culture, and belief might influence one's tobacco use. Universities should provide screening and counselling service for undergraduate students. Gender-based intervention and preventive strategies might be required. To plan better policies, socioeconomic status of the community should not be overlooked.