Smoking among medical and engineering students

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Medical Education
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Smoking remains a significant public health concern globally.
• Student populations, particularly in higher education, are often targeted for smoking cessation interventions.
• Understanding knowledge, attitudes, and practices is crucial for effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare smoking knowledge, attitudes, and practices among medical and engineering students.
• To examine differences in smoking behaviors based on year of study and faculty.
• To assess the relationship between knowledge of adverse health effects and smoking prevalence.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 364 medical and engineering students.
• An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data.
• Data were analyzed to compare smoking prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes between faculties and study years.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of current smoking was 24.1% among the surveyed students.
• Smoking prevalence was similar across both medical and engineering faculties.
• Smoking rates did not differ significantly between first-year and later-year students.
• Medical students in higher years demonstrated greater knowledge of smoking's adverse health effects but did not exhibit lower smoking rates.

Conclusions:

• Increased knowledge of smoking risks does not appear to be sufficient to reduce smoking prevalence in this student population.
• Targeted interventions beyond knowledge dissemination may be necessary to curb smoking habits among university students.
• Future research should explore the efficacy of different intervention strategies in reducing student smoking.