Perceived benefits and health risks of cigarette smoking among young adults: insights from a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundPerceptions of smoking-related health risks and benefits among young adults (18–24 years) and their smoking behaviour have not been adequately studied in low-income countries like Nepal. This study has examined the perceived risks and the benefits of smoking among young adults who smoke vs. don’t smoke.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out from August to September 2013 among 315 young adults (18–24) from four conveniently selected private colleges of different faculties in Kathmandu Metropolis. The anonymous, self-administrated and semi structured questionnaire contained the information on individual information; smoking behaviour; and perceptions on smoking-related risks and benefits. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to identify the mean age of smoking initiation. Cox proportion hazard regression was used to assess the relationship between current smoking behaviours and the perceived risks and the benefits of smoking.ResultsOverall, the prevalence of current smoking was 16.2 % (Male =28.4 % and female =5.38 %). The mean age of smoking initiation was 16.6 and 17.7 years for male and female respectively. The risk of becoming a current smoking being a management student was higher (HR = 4.72, 95 % CI: 2.19; 10.20) than being a medical student. The risk of current smoking behaviour significantly increased with those who believed that smoking was enjoyable (HR = 4.74, 2.58; 8.72); would help to deal with problems or stress (3.19, 1.76; 5.79); would feel comfortable with friends (4.29, 2.33; 7.92); would be relaxing (6.95, 3.60; 13.43); and something to do when feel bored (3.42, 1.91; 6.13). The young adults who believed that smoking would make yellow teeth (0.53, 0.30; 0.94) and yellow nail (0.53, 0.29; 0.95); and would be bad to their health (0.45, 0.21; 0.98) were significantly at lower risk of becoming a current smoking.ConclusionPositive perceptions related to smoking are common among young adults. To discourage smoking, future intervention programs should focus communicating not only health risks but also counteract perception of benefits related to smoking.

A Cross Sectional Study on Knowledge, Beliefs and Psychosocial Predictors of Shisha Smoking among University Students in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

“…Comparatively, lower prevalence rates were reported among university students studying in South Africa 18.6% (Senkubuge et al, 2012), United States of America 20% (Eissenberg et al, 2008), Malaysia 30% (Al-Naggar and Saghir, 2011) and Turkey 32.7% (Poyrazoğlu et al, 2010). A higher prevalence reported in the present study may be attributed to the non-standardized criteria for shisha smokers (anyone who had smoked shisha in last 30 days is considered as a current shisha smoker) (Aryal and Bhatta, 2015;Habibullah et al, 2013), as well as to the cultural and social acceptance to shisha smoking in the UAE (Kader, 2010;Athamneh et al, 2015). For this reason, the results of this study categorized shisha dependency students from current shisha smokers as shisha dependency students are vulnerable for various physical and mental health problems.…”

Understanding how a smoking cessation intervention changes beliefs, self-efficacy, and intention to quit: a secondary analysis of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial

“…They perceived a positive benefit in consuming tobacco such as gaining more friends or becoming more relaxed. These considerations are similar to those reported in previous studies [9][10]12,[42][43].…”

“…Several studies characterize college as a period of smoking transitions, including smoking initiation and smoking consolidation [6][7][8]. Although most college students believe that they are going to stop smoking before 30 or upon becoming parents [9][10], 30% of them will have difficulty in quitting and will remain addicted for decades [11].…”

The impact of smoking and smoking cessation on disease outcomes in ulcerative colitis: a nationwide population‐based study

“…16,18 Studies in non-IBD populations have found that smoking initiation is more likely when there is a perceived short-term benefit, despite acceptance of short-and long-term risks. 58,59 Our findings should therefore embolden clinicians to advise against smoking and reassure patients who already smoke that they can benefit from the many advantages of smoking cessation without risk of worsening their UC.…”