Knowledge and factors related to smoking among university students at Hodeidah University, Yemen

Tobacco smoking, especially among university students, remains a significant issue worldwide. This survey aims to investigate and evaluate the smoking behavior and smoking-related knowledge and their relationship in students of Hodeidah University, Yemen.

A cross-sectional study was performed among students at Hodeidah University. Using a global youth tobacco survey and a global health professional survey, data were collected from three colleges (Commerce and Economics, Engineering, and Medicine) from April to June 2017, from 420 randomly chosen students.

The smoking prevalence among university students was 33.1% (cigarettes 13.6%, waterpipe 9.3%, and 10.2% for dual cigarettes and waterpipe use), with a higher rate of smoking among males than females (36.3% vs 28.0%, p<0.001). The percentage of individuals participating in the three types of smoking among males and females, respectively, were 18.9% vs 5.0% for cigarettes, 1.9% vs 21.1% for waterpipe, and 15.4% vs 1.9% for dual cigarettes and waterpipe use, with a student mean age of 21.93 ± 2.55 years. The regression outcome revealed that year of study was highly associated with smoking (OR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.85-0.89, p<0.001). Age (OR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.94-0.99, p<0.05), residence (OR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.00-1.09, p<0.05) and family income (OR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.00-1.06, p<0.05) were also significant predictors of smoking.

According to this study, most of the male students were cigarette users, while female students were waterpipe users. The prevalence of waterpipe use among females, as opposed to males, is an issue of concern. Policy makers may need to initiate anti-smoking programmes in Yemeni universities.