Prevalence of Tobacco Consumption Through Passive Smoking and E-cigarette at Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background: More than 6 million adults worldwide are lost their lives due to the consumption of cigarettes. Aim of this study is the investigation of tobacco consumption prevalence via both passive smoking and e-cigarette amongst medical students at Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences (FCMS), Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: An epidemiological, cross-sectional study conducted amongst FCMS medical students between July 2020 till November 2020. Results: Total of 359 participants involved in this study. Females were (87.7%) and males were (12.3%). (48.7%) of the participants were in age group 19-20 years and (30.9%) were 21-22 years. (93.8%) were singles. The majority were in their second and third academic year, 78 (23.1%) and 90 (26.7%), respectively. 293 (81.6%) are not current smokers and 72 (20.1%) are former smokers. Most of the participants agreed that smoking tobacco causes dangerous diseases such as brain thrombosis, heart attacks and lung cancer, 291 (81.1%), 189 (52.6%), 262 (73.0%) and 288 (80.2%); respectively. Using E-cigarette to quit smoking is successful in 53 (14.8%) and 105 (29.2%) recommend E-cigarette for smoking cessation. Conclusions: Prevalence of E-cigarettes and shisha smoking amongst students of FCMS is not high, yet it is alarming. Most of the participants had good knowledge of tobacco harms. Our results highlight the importance of initiating campaigns to quit smoking cigarettes, E-cigarette, and shisha on-campus. The results obtained from this study show the importance to create, develop and implement tobacco education programs to help in smoking cessation.