Awareness, Attitude and Practice of Smoking among Medical Sciences & Non-Medical Sciences Students at Taif University: Comparative Study

Tobacco use is increasing among young people, especially in Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia, and has been predicted to cause the deaths of 10 million per year by 2020 worldwide. Objectives: Identify student's awareness, attitude and smoking practice at Taif University, Saudi Arabia, and Compare medical with non-medical sciences students', awareness, attitudes, and practices of smoking at Taif University. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried among medical and non-medical sciences students Results: 900 students answered the questionnaire. The prevalence of smokers was 20% of the total sample, male represents 29.4% and female 11.4%. No statistical significant difference between medical and non-medical sciences students' awareness and positive attitude regard smoking. The main reasons of smoking among student are friends and medical sciences students more willing for quiet smoking than non-medical sciences students. Conclusions: no significant difference regard prevalence of smoking among medical and non-medical sciences students, believe that health professionals should receive specific training to quit smoking. Recommendation: The study revealed a critical need for integrating cessation counseling training into medical and non-medical sciences education, especially for adolescents, because this stage is critical and adolescents are more vulnerable to many negative behaviors including smoking behaviors.