Abstract

Medical, Dental and Pharmacology students are supposed to play an important role in smoking prevention and should serve as role models for their patients and the public regarding smoking.

Objectives: The objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalence, knowledge, attitudes and practices among medical, dental and pharmacology students at Qassim University in relation to smoking and perceived role of the colleges in smoking prevention and control.

Materials and methods: The study design was cross-sectional including 375 male dental, medical and pharmacology students present on the day of the survey at Qassim University. An anonymous pilot tested questionnaire was used to collect the data.

Results: 301 questionnaires were returned with an overall response rate of 82.7%. 15 questionnaires were excluded because of incomplete entries leaving behind 286 for final data analysis. Out of 286 students, 12.7% were smoking at the time of the study, 20.4% were ever smokers and 66.9% never smoked during their life time. The percentage of dental students who were currently smoking was higher than the percentages for the other two colleges but the differences amongst the students of the three colleges were not statistically significant. 69.1% of the respondents agreed that health professional students should serve as a role model for their patients and public regarding smoking with a significantly higher percentage of the medical as well as the dental students agreeing to the statement than the pharmacology students (p<0.05). Only 29.0% students were aware of the policy banning smoking in the college. 49.0% of medical students, 63.3% of dental students and 60.5% of pharmacology students did not learn anything about smoking cessation in their colleges. However 64% of the total number of students felt a need for training about smoking cessation techniques in the college. A significant number of smokers were smoking to relieve stress and as a source of enjoyment during their leisure.

Conclusion: The majority of medical and dental students and almost half of the pharmacology students held positive attitudes towards smoking prevention. The colleges’ role in the prevention and control of smoking turned out to be inadequate.

Keywords: Health professional students; Medical; Dental; Pharmacology; Smoking; Colleges