The prevalence of smoking among male students of Majmaah University, KSA

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of tobacco smoking among male students of Majmaah University, KSA. The study also aimed to record the pattern of tobacco use and determine the social factors that influence tobacco smoking.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 23,424 male students from three faculties of Majmaah University were enrolled and registered to participated in a survey-based research study. We randomly selected the faculties of Applied Sciences, Education, and Business Administration for inclusion. A-semi structured questionnaire was administered to the sample, and the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for data analysis.ResultsThe prevalence of smokers among male students was 30.4%. The majority of tobacco smokers (70.7%) used cigarettes, and most (41.3%) consumed between 10 and 20 cigarettes per day. The majority of smokers started smoking during secondary school. The results showed that 39% of students had attempted to quit smoking once or twice, while 28.2% never tried to quit smoking. Most (73.4%) of the students spent less than 500 Saudi Riyals (SR) on smoking every month.ConclusionThis study has shown that the prevalence of smoking among male students at Majmaah University is higher than the prevalence of smoking reported by other studies in KSA. Most students had previously tried to quit smoking, which is a finding that indicates that healthcare agencies should introduce new smoking cessation campaigns and raise awareness about non-smoking attitudes in schools and universities.