Smoking behaviour among male students in a Saudi University

Background: Smoking among university students is a social and public health problem worldwide. There is a high prevalence of smoking in Saudi Arabia.

Aims: To investigate the factors associated with the onset and cessation of smoking behaviour among university students in Saudi Arabia, and establish what contributes to changes of students' smoking behaviour.

Methods: A sample of 340 students from a national university in Saudi Arabia was randomly recruited and surveyed twice at a 5-month interval. Multiple ordinal logistic regression was run to compare changes in social, psychological and political factors and their impact on students' smoking behaviour.

Results: We found that beliefs supporting nonsmoking [e.g., religious prohibition of smoking] correlated with changes in smoking behaviour among university students [adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.23– 2.91]. There was a significant positive correlation between government policy and changes in male university students' smoking behaviour [AOR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.29–0.072]. The psychological effect of smoking, such as releasing psychological pressures, was also correlated with changes in smoking behaviour [AOR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.21–0.47].

Conclusions: Our study suggests that the government can play a significant role in curbing smoking by strengthening beliefs promoting antismoking among university students, by developing corresponding policies against smoking, and by providing psychological consultation for them