Smoking behavior and secondhand smoke exposure among university students in northern Portugal: relations with knowledge on tobacco use and attitudes toward smoking

Alves, Regina FerreiraPrecioso, JoséBecoña Iglesias, Elisardo2023-01-182023-01-182022Alves RF, Precioso J, Becoña E. Smoking behavior and secondhand smoke exposure among university students in northern Portugal: Relations with knowledge on tobacco use and attitudes toward smoking. Pulmonology. 2022 May-Jun;28(3):193-202. doi: 10.1016/j.pulmoe.2020.03.004. Epub 2020 May 202531-0429http://hdl.handle.net/10347/29922Objectives To assess the prevalence of active smoking and secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among college students in the north of Portugal, and analyze the relationship between knowledge about tobacco use and attitudes toward smoking. Materials and methods This a cross-sectional study with a representative sample of college students (n = 840) in one university in Portugal. A validated self-reported questionnaire was administered to a proportional stratified random sample during the academic year of 2018/2019. We evaluated associations between smoking status, SHS exposure, smokers peers, knowledge and attitudes toward smoking and sociodemographic variables. Results The results showed that 20.1% of the students surveyed were current smokers (7.3% occasional smokers, 2.9% regular smokers and 9.9% daily smokers). Most current smokers started smoking before the age of 17 (61.4%) and reported never having tried to quit smoking (59.7%). Only 34.4% of students reported (almost) not having been in enclosed spaces with smokers in the past 7 days. Exposure to SHS and having smoker friends contributes to the prevalence of tobacco use. In general, students showed favorable attitudes toward smoking, especially those who are smokers, have smoking friends and are more exposed to SHS. The level of knowledge about tobacco was moderate, with a higher number of correct responses by former smokers. Conclusions These results suggests an urgent need for socio-educational programs for counseling on smoking cessation. In addition, is also strongly recommended that, throughout academic training, students develop personal and social skills for dealing with the tobacco epidemic.eng© 2020 Sociedade Portuguesa de Pneumologia. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)TobaccoSecondhand SmokeHigher EducationKnowledgeAttitudesBehaviorsSmoking behavior and secondhand smoke exposure among university students in northern Portugal: relations with knowledge on tobacco use and attitudes toward smokingjournal article10.1016/j.pulmoe.2020.03.0042531-0437open access