descriptive study of perceptions and behavior of water pipe smoking among students in Lahore institutes

ABSTRACT

In the background of increasing popularity of shisha smoking, there is an urgent need for shisha to be better understood and acknowledged. Shisha is rapidly penetrating in young adult community especially students which is of a great public health concern. Shisha smoking is now suspected to be a risk factor for a number of systemic diseases including cancer. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence of shisha smokers among medical and dental students of a college of Lahore and also determine their knowledge, attitude and behavior towards shisha smoking. A cross sectional study was conducted in Fatima Memorial College of medicine and dentistry, Lahore which included medical and dental undergraduates. Convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data of 425 respondents. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20.0. Results demonstrate that approximately 32% of the medical and dental undergraduate students smoke shisha. Male to female ratio of water pipe smoking was found to be surprisingly high as 11. Results also suggested that there are a number of established correlates of water pipe smoking, including peer and social pressure and lack of awareness about harmful effects of shisha smoking. Despite its harmful effects shisha smoking is quite common among medical and dental undergraduate students mainly because of the social pressure and lack of awareness about its toxic effects