Smoking among dental students in Monastir, Tunisia

Dental students can help in the fight against smoking. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of smoking and assess behaviours, knowledge and attitudes among dental students in Monastir, Tunisia. A survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted during November 2008. The sample consisted of 1123 dentistry students aged 18 to 28 years. About 14% of the students were smokers (38.4% of boys and 3.4% girls, P < 0.0001) with an average of 16 cigarettes smoked daily. The age at smoking first cigarette ranged from 8 to 21 years (mean 16, SD 2.3 years). Among the smoker students, 66.5% of their fathers and 3% of their mothers were also smokers. Over 80% of these students were aware that smoking is harmful to health. These results reveal a need to include classes on smoking cessation in the dental curriculum.