Tobacco use, secondhand exposure and knowledge of secondhand and third-hand smoke among medical college students in Western Nepal: a cross-sectional study
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of tobacco use, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and knowledge about SHS and third-hand smoke (THS) exposure among students in a medical college in Western Nepal. DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional study. SETTING: Data collection was done from 8 July 2023 to 8 August 2023 in a medical college in Nepal. PARTICIPANTS: This study was conducted on undergraduate students studying in a medical college in Western Nepal using a census (whole population) sampling technique. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: test was used to compare the group exposed and non-exposed to tobacco, SHS and THS by sociodemographic variables (sex, residence, year of study and academic stream). RESULTS: The response rate was 96.43% (n=595/617). The overall prevalence of tobacco use was found to be 16.30%. A total of 88.83% of students from clinical years knew about SHS which was more than preclinical students (p <0.001). The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students have higher knowledge of SHS as compared with others (p =0.003). More than 95% of students favoured banning smoking in public places. Nearly half of the participants (45.45%) experienced SHS exposure in the last 7 days. More than half proportion of the clinical students knew about THS, which was higher than preclinical students and interns (p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco use prevalence among the participants was found to be lower in comparison to other studies including medical students in several Asian countries. Despite more than three-fourths of students knowing the harmful effects of SHS exposure, almost one-half of them were exposed to SHS. The proportion of students who knew about THS exposure was comparably lower.
Source: BMJ Open
Authors: Surabhi Sagar, Dikshya Bhattarai, Srijana Ghimire, Apeksha Bhattarai, Anupa Wagle, Krishna Subedi
Institution: Gandaki Medical College
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,839
OpenAlex ID: W4402652415