Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2012.13.6.2547

Correlates of Smoking, Quit Attempts and Attitudes towards Total Smoking Bans at University: Findings from Eleven Faculties in Egypt  

Ansari, Walid El (Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Gloucestershire)
Labeeb, Shokria (Faculty of Nursing, Assiut University)
Kotb, Safaa (Faculty of Nursing, Assiut University)
Yousafzai, Mohammad T. (Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Hamad Medical Corporation)
El-Houfey, Amira (Faculty of Nursing, Assiut University)
Stock, Christiane (Unit for Health Promotion Research, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark)
Publication Information
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention / v.13, no.6, 2012 , pp. 2547-2556 More about this Journal
Abstract
Objectives: Smoking among university students represents a formidable and global public health challenge. We assessed the associations between socio-demographic, health and wellbeing variables as independent variables, with daily smoking, attempts to quit smoking, and agreement with smoking ban as dependent variables. Methods: A sample of 3258 undergraduate students from eleven faculties at Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt, completed a general health questionnaire. Results: Overall daily or occasional smoking in last three months prior to the survey was about 9% (8% occasional and 1% daily smokers), and smoking was generally more prevalent among males (male=17%, female=0.6%, P < 0.001). After adjustment for confounders, not having normal BMI and having a mother who completed at least bachelor's degree education was positively associated with daily smoking, and conversely, no history of illicit drug use was a protective factor. About 76% of smokers had attempted to quit smoking within the last 12 months prior to the survey. Although a large proportion of students agreed/strongly agreed with the banning of smoking at university altogether (87%), such agreement was less likely among smokers. Conclusion: There is need for implementation of non-smoking policies on university premises, as well as regular up-to-date information on, and the periodic/yearly monitoring of tobacco use by university students employing standardised data collection instruments and reference periods. In addition, it would be valuable to develop campus-based educational/ awareness campaigns designed to counteract tobacco advertisement directed towards young people in Middle East countries. Otherwise, the danger could be that the current relatively low smoking prevalence among university students may escalate in the future.
Keywords
Smoking; quitting smoking; agreement with smoking ban; Egypt; university students;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Al-Kaabba AF, Saeed AA, Abdalla AM, Hassan HA, Mustafa AA (2011). Prevalence and associated factors of cigarette smoking among medical students at King Fahad Medical City in Riyadh of Saudi Arabia. J Family Community Med, 18, 8-12.   DOI
2 Al-Naggar RA, Al-Dubai SA, Al-Naggar TH, Chen R, Al-Jashamy K (2011). Prevalence and of smoking and associated factors among Malaysian University students. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 12, 619-24.
3 American College Health Association (2007). American College Health Association National College Health Assessment Spring 2006 Reference Group data report (abridged). J Am Coll Health, 55, 195-206.   DOI
4 American College Health Association (2006). American College Health Association National College Health Assessment (ACHA-NCHA): Spring 2005 reference group report (abridged). J Am Coll Health, 55, 15-6.
5 Aslan D, Bilir N, Ozcebe H, Stock C, Kucuk N (2006). Prevalence and determinants of adolescent smoking in Ankara, Turkey. Turkish J Cancer, 36, 49-56.
6 Beck AT, Steer RA, Ball R, Ranieri W (1996). Comparison of Beck Depression Inventories-IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients. J Pers Assess, 67, 588-97.   DOI
7 Bluml V, Kapusta N, Vyssoki B, et al (2012). Relationship between substance use and body mass index in young males. Am J Addict, 21, 72-7.   DOI
8 Bruusgard D, Nessioy I, Rutle O, Furuseth K, Natvig B (1993). Measuring functional status in a population survey. The Dartmouth COOP/WONCA functional health assessment charts used in an epidemiological study. Fam Pract, 10, 212-8.   DOI
9 Bamia C, Trichopoulou A, Lenas D, Trichopoulos D (2004). Tobacco smoking in relation to body fat mass and distribution in a general population sample, Int J Obesity, 28, 1091-6.   DOI   ScienceOn
10 Djikanovic B, Marinkovic J, Jankovic J, Vujanac V, Simic S (2011). Gender differences in smoking experience and cessation: do wealth and education matter equally for women and men in Serbia? J Public Health, 33, 31-8.   DOI
11 El Ansari W, Maxwell AE, Mikolajczyk RT, et al (2007). Promoting public health: Benefits and challenges of a European wide research consortium on student health. Cent Eur J Public Health, 15, 58-65.
12 El Ansari W, Stock C (2010). Is the health and wellbeing of university students associated with their academic performance? Cross sectional findings from the United Kingdom. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 7, 509-27.   DOI
13 El Ansari W, Stock C, Mikolajczyk RT (2012). Relationships between food consumption and living arrangements among university students in four European countries - A crosssectional study. Nutr J, 11, 28.   DOI
14 El Ansari W, Stock C, Snelgrove S, et al (2011). Feeling Healthy? A Survey of Physical and Psychological Wellbeing of Students from Seven Universities in the UK. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 8, 1308-23.   DOI
15 El Ansari W, Stock C (2012). Factors Associated With Smoking, Quit Attempts and Attitudes towards Total Smoking Ban at University: A Survey of Seven Universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. APJCP, 13, 705-14.
16 El-Awa F, Warren CW, Jones NR (2010). Changes in tobacco use among 13-15-year-olds between 1999 and 2007: findings from the Eastern Mediterranean Region. East Mediterr Health J, 16, 266-73.
17 Fawibe AE, Shittu AO (2011). Prevalence and characteristics of cigarette smokers among undergraduates of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Niger J Clin Pract, 14, 201-5.   DOI
18 Park E (2009) Gender as a moderator in the association of body weight to smoking and mental health. Am J Public Health, 99, 146-51.   DOI   ScienceOn
19 National Cancer Institute (1999). Health effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: a report of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph No. 10. Bethesda. MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, NIH Pub No 99-4645,.
20 Osler M, Heitmann BL (1996) The validity of a short food frequency questionnaire and its ability to measure changes in food intake: a longitudinal study. Int J Epidemiol, 25, 1023-9.   DOI
21 Patelarou E, Vardavas CI, Ntzilepi P, et al (2011). Nursing education and beliefs towards tobacco cessation and control: a cross- sectional national survey (GHPSS) among nursing students in Greece. Tob Induc Dis, 9, 4.   DOI
22 Peltzer K (2011). Early smoking initiation and associated factors among in-school male and female adolescents in seven African countries. Afr Health Sci, 11, 320-8.
23 Potthoff P, Schroeder E, Reis U, Klamert A (1999). [Process and results of field work concerning the Federal Health Survey]. Gesundheitswesen, 61, 62-7.
24 Prospective Studies Collaboration (2009). Body-mass index and cause-specific mortality in 900,000 adults: collaborative analyses of 57 prospective studies. The Lancet, 373, 1083-96.   DOI
25 Refaat A (2004). Practice and awareness of health risk behaviour among Egyptian university students. East Mediterr Health J, 10, 72-81.
26 Richards A, Kattelmann KK, Ren C (2006). Motivating 18- to 24-year-olds to increase their fruit and vegetable consumption. J Am Diet Assoc, 106, 1405-11.   DOI
27 CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). (1994). Youth and tobacco: preventing tobacco use among young people: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, Georgia, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Health Promotion.
28 Abolfotouh MA, Bassiouni FA, Mounir GM, Fayyad RC (2007). Health-related lifestyles and risk behaviours among students living in Alexandria University Hostels. East Mediterr Health J, 13, 376-91.
29 Cawley J, Markowitz S, Tauras J (2003). Lighting up and slimming down: The effects of body weight and cigarette prices on adolescent smoking initiation. J Health Economics, 23, 293-311.
30 CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Smoking & tobacco use: Tobacco related mortality. 2011. Available from: www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/ [accessed date:22/12/2011].
31 Chuang SH, Huang SL (2012). Changes in smoking behavior among college students following implementation of a strict campus smoking policy in Taiwan. Int J Public Health, 57, 199-205.   DOI
32 Cohen S, Kamarck T, Mermelstein R (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. J Health Soc Behav, 24, 385.   DOI   ScienceOn
33 Corrao MA, Guindon GE, Cokkinides V, Sharma N (2000). Building the evidence base for global tobacco control. Bull World Health Organ, 78, 884-90.
34 Albanes D,. Jones YD, Micozzi MS, Mattson ME (1987). Associations between smoking and body weight in the US population: analysis of NHANES II, Am J Public Health, 77, 439-44.   DOI   ScienceOn
35 Dearden K, Crookston BT, De La Cruz NG, et al (2007). Teens in trouble: cigarette use and risky behaviors among private, high school students in La Paz, Bolivia. Pan Am J Public Health, 22, 160-8.
36 Deressa W, Azazh A (2011). Substance use and its predictors among undergraduate medical students of Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. BMC Public Health, 22, 660.
37 Hsieh PL (2004). Factors influencing student's decisions to choose healthy or unhealthy snacks at the University of Newcastle, Australia J Nurs Res, 12, 83-90.   DOI
38 Gilpin EA, White VM, Pierce, JP (2005). What fraction of young adults are at risk for future smoking, and who are they? Nicotine Tob Res, 7, 747-59.   DOI
39 Haddad LG, Malak MZ (2002). Smoking habits and attitudes towards smoking among university students in Jordan. Int J nursing studies, 39, 793-802.   DOI   ScienceOn
40 Hashim TJ (2000). Smoking habits of students in College Of Applied Medical Science, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med J, 21, 76-80.
41 Hu X, Primack BA, Barnett TE, Cook RL (2011). College students and use of K2: an emerging drug of abuse in young persons. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prev & Policy, 6, 16.   DOI
42 Hurrelmann K, Kolip P (1994). The Youth Health Survey. Public Relations Service, SFB 227, No 11. Bielefeld: University of Bielefeld.
43 Islam SM, Johnson CA (2007). Western media's influence on Egyptian adolescents' smoking behavior: the mediating role of positive beliefs about smoking. Nicotine Tob Res, 9, 57-64.
44 Jha P, Chaloupka FJ (2000). Tobacco Control in Developing Countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
45 Flegal KM, Troiano RP, Pamuk ER, Kuczmarski RJ, Campbell SM (1995). The influence of smoking cessation on the prevalence of overweight in the United States. NEJM, 333, 1165-70.   DOI
46 Kaufman A, Augustson EM, Patrick H (2012). Unraveling the Relationship between Smoking and Weight: The Role of Sedentary Behavior. J Obes, 735465. Epub 2011 Sep 27.
47 Shafey O Eriksen M, Ross H, Mackay J (2009). The tobacco atlas. Atlanta: American Cancer Society.
48 Rigotti NA, Regan S, Moran SE, Wechsler H (2003). Students' opinion of tobacco control policies recommended for US colleges: a national survey. Tob Control, 12, 251-6.   DOI
49 Roddam AW, Spencer E, Banks E, et al (2005). Reproducibility of a short semiquantitative food group questionnaire and its performance in estimating nutrient intake compared with a 7-day diet diary in the Million Women Study. Public Health Nutr, 8, 201-3.
50 Saarni SE, Pietilainen KH, Kantonen S, Rissanen A, Kaprio J (2009). Association of smoking in adolescence with abdominal obesity in adulthood: A follow-up study of 5 birth cohorts of Finnish Twins. Am J Public Health, 99, 348-54.   DOI
51 Thomas JL, An L, Luo X, et al (2010). Abstinence and relapse rates following a college campus-based quit & win contest. J Am Coll Health, 58, 365-72.   DOI
52 United Nations Population Division (1998). World population prospects 1950-2050. New York: United Nations.
53 Villablanca AC, McDonald JM, Rutledge JC (2000). Smoking and Cardiovascular disease. Clin Chest Med, 21, 159-72.   DOI
54 Wetter D W, Kenford SL, Welsch SK, et al (2004). Prevalence and predictors of transitions in smoking behavior among college students. Health Psychology, 23, 168-77.   DOI
55 WHO/EMRO (2009). Towards a strategy for cancer control in the eastern Mediterranean region. Cairo.
56 Wolfson M, McCoy TP, Sutfin EL (2009). College students' exposure to secondhand smoke. Nicotine Tob Res, 11, 977-84.   DOI
57 Kim E-K, Choo J (2012). Secondhand Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Associated Factors among College Students on Campus and in the Home: A Preliminary Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 9, 212-22.   DOI
58 Kelishadi R, Mokhtari MR, Tavasoli AA, et al (2007). Determinants of tobacco smoking among Youths in Isfahan, Iran. Int J Public Health, 52, 173-9.   DOI
59 Khader YS, Alsadi AA (2008). Smoking habits among university students in Jordan: prevalence and associated factors. East Mediterr Health J, 14, 897-904.
60 Khalil KA, El Ansari W, Crone D (2011). Correlates of Clinically diagnosed anxiety and depression among higher education students in Libya. In: H Shulz, PR Wright, T Hauser (eds.) Exercise, Sports and Health. Chemnitz, Germany: Universitatsverlag Chemnitz. 63-72.
61 Lee RL, Loke AJ (2005). Health-promoting behaviors and psychosocial well-being of university students in Hong Kong. Public Health Nurs, 22, 209-20.   DOI
62 Sneve M, Jorde R (2008). Cross-sectional study on the relationship between body mass index and smoking, and longitudinal change in body mass index in relation to change in smoking status: The Tromso Study. Scand J Public Healt, 36, 397-407.   DOI
63 Mathers CD, Loncar D (2006). Projections of Global Mortality and Burden of Disease from 2002 to 2030. PLoS Med 3, e442.   DOI
64 Mayabb G, Hoppers T (2006). Tobacco-free campus initiative. J Okla State Med Assoc, 99, 114-8.
65 Minhas HM, Rahman A (2009). Prevalence, patterns and knowledge of effects on health of smoking among medical students in Pakistan. East Mediterr Health J, 15, 1174-9.
66 World Health Organization (2000). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Geneva: World Health Organization.
67 World Health Organization (2008). WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2008: the MPOWER packaged. Geneva: World Health Organization.