Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia
Objective: This study examines smoking behaviors, including the age of initiation, daily consumption, cessation attempts, and awareness of smoking-related health risks among male healthcare professional students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 308 male...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_1203_24 |
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| author | Sultan A. Almalki Inderjit M. Gowdar Bashar A. Alanazi Osama A. Alqahtani Fahad R. Alanazi Khalid F. Al-Harbi |
| author_facet | Sultan A. Almalki Inderjit M. Gowdar Bashar A. Alanazi Osama A. Alqahtani Fahad R. Alanazi Khalid F. Al-Harbi |
| author_sort | Sultan A. Almalki |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective:
This study examines smoking behaviors, including the age of initiation, daily consumption, cessation attempts, and awareness of smoking-related health risks among male healthcare professional students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 308 male students across four healthcare disciplines: Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy. A structured questionnaire collected data on smoking status, initiation age, daily cigarette consumption, reasons for smoking, cessation attempts, and awareness of systemic and oral diseases caused by smoking. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests were used to identify significant differences among disciplines.
Results:
The prevalence of smoking varied significantly among the different disciplines, with Pharmacy students having the lowest smoking rate (16.2%) and Dental students the highest (38.5%) (P = 0.005). Most smokers began smoking between the ages of 18-21. The majority of smokers consumed 3-5 cigarettes per day. Awareness of smoking-related systemic diseases, such as lung cancer, was high across all groups, though knowledge of smoking-related oral diseases varied. Attempts to quit smoking were most prevalent among Dental students (66.7%), indicating a significant difference in cessation efforts across disciplines (P = 0.04).
Conclusion:
The study highlights significant differences in smoking behaviors and awareness across healthcare disciplines. These findings underscore the critical need for targeted educational interventions to address smoking behaviors and improve health literacy among healthcare professional students. By focusing on discipline-specific approaches, it is possible to enhance the effectiveness of tobacco control programs and promote healthier lifestyles among future healthcare providers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c5c0383c95654c97a4ee8a2d647b4a64 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0976-4879 0975-7406 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-c5c0383c95654c97a4ee8a2d647b4a642025-08-20T03:11:39ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsJournal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences0976-48790975-74062024-12-0116Suppl 5S4548S455410.4103/jpbs.jpbs_1203_24Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi ArabiaSultan A. AlmalkiInderjit M. GowdarBashar A. AlanaziOsama A. AlqahtaniFahad R. AlanaziKhalid F. Al-HarbiObjective: This study examines smoking behaviors, including the age of initiation, daily consumption, cessation attempts, and awareness of smoking-related health risks among male healthcare professional students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 308 male students across four healthcare disciplines: Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacy. A structured questionnaire collected data on smoking status, initiation age, daily cigarette consumption, reasons for smoking, cessation attempts, and awareness of systemic and oral diseases caused by smoking. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests were used to identify significant differences among disciplines. Results: The prevalence of smoking varied significantly among the different disciplines, with Pharmacy students having the lowest smoking rate (16.2%) and Dental students the highest (38.5%) (P = 0.005). Most smokers began smoking between the ages of 18-21. The majority of smokers consumed 3-5 cigarettes per day. Awareness of smoking-related systemic diseases, such as lung cancer, was high across all groups, though knowledge of smoking-related oral diseases varied. Attempts to quit smoking were most prevalent among Dental students (66.7%), indicating a significant difference in cessation efforts across disciplines (P = 0.04). Conclusion: The study highlights significant differences in smoking behaviors and awareness across healthcare disciplines. These findings underscore the critical need for targeted educational interventions to address smoking behaviors and improve health literacy among healthcare professional students. By focusing on discipline-specific approaches, it is possible to enhance the effectiveness of tobacco control programs and promote healthier lifestyles among future healthcare providers.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_1203_24health awarenesshealthcare studentssaudi arabiasmokingtobacco use |
| spellingShingle | Sultan A. Almalki Inderjit M. Gowdar Bashar A. Alanazi Osama A. Alqahtani Fahad R. Alanazi Khalid F. Al-Harbi Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences health awareness healthcare students saudi arabia smoking tobacco use |
| title | Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia |
| title_full | Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia |
| title_fullStr | Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia |
| title_short | Smoking Behaviors and Health Risk Awareness Among Healthcare Students in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia |
| title_sort | smoking behaviors and health risk awareness among healthcare students in alkharj saudi arabia |
| topic | health awareness healthcare students saudi arabia smoking tobacco use |
| url | https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_1203_24 |
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