Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Smoking Habits, Attitudes, Knowledge, and Needs among University Students: A Pilot Study among Obstetrics Students

Impact of tobacco education on pharmacy students' perceptions of electronic nicotine delivery systems

OBJECTIVE

Describe how receiving tobacco education within the PharmD curriculum affects 1) students' perceptions and knowledge of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and 2) willingness to counsel on cessation.

METHODS

Eight institutions used a 29-item questionnaire to assess P1-P4 students' tobacco use, ENDS knowledge, cessation education, and perceptions in the fall of 2020. Students were divided into those who had received tobacco cessation education and those who had not.

RESULTS

832 pharmacy students participated in the study with a 28% response rate. 56% of respondents were reported as receiving at least some tobacco education in the pharmacy curriculum. Quitting other forms of tobacco was the only perceived benefit of ENDS that was statistically different between groups. Tobacco education was associated with a greater likelihood of identifying localized harms of ENDS, including explosion/burns and mouth/throat irritation. Those with tobacco education were more likely to agree they received enough education to counsel on smoking cessation and were more likely to agree they are willing to counsel patients on quitting. Tobacco education was associated with an increased willingness to offer smoking cessation (OR 1.56; 95% CI 1.14-2.13) but not more willing to offer ENDS cessation (0.85; 0.58-1.24). Personal history of combustible cigarette use was associated with increased willingness to counsel on both smoking (2.45; 1.27-4.73) and ENDS (2.79; 1.38-5.64) cessation.

CONCLUSION

Tobacco education in the pharmacy curriculum was associated with an increased likelihood of recognizing localized harms of ENDS and willingness to offer smoking cessation counseling but did not increase willingness to offer ENDS cessation counseling.

Household smoking impact on the oral health of 5- to 7-years-old children

BACKGROUND

Children's exposure to secondhand smoke, particularly by their parents, could adversely affect their oral health. Thereby, this study aimed to assess the oral health status of children subjected to household smoking and the impact of smoking patterns on the severity of oral health deterioration.

METHODS

A total of 210 healthy children were enrolled in this case-control study and allocated into children subjected to household smoking (HS) and control groups. Participants' guardians were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding sociodemographic characteristics and parental smoking habits. All participants were subjected to clinical dental examination to assess dental caries (ICDAS), hypomineralized primary molars (HSPM), and gingival status (GI). Stimulated saliva samples were collected to assess saliva composition and characteristics. Urine samples were collected and analyzed for cotinine concentration. Data were analyzed using SPSS (v.25) software at a test value of p ≤ 0.05. The t-student test was used to find significant differences between participants' age, gingival index score, saliva pH, flow rate, sIgA, and cotinine level. The Chi-square test was used to test for the significance of parental employment, number of rooms, gender, sweets consumption, brushing frequency, and HMPM. The correspondence analysis was used to test for significance of parents' levels of education, type of house ventilation, ICDAS score, smoking form, frequency, and smoking pattern. The correlation between cotinine level and sIgA was tested for association using Bivariate correlation test.

RESULTS

The HS group showed a significantly increased risk for dental caries (p < 0.000), HSPM lesions (p = 0.007), and GI score (p < 0.000). A significant reduction in salivary flow rate, saliva pH, and sIgA were evident in HS group (p < 0.000). Parental consumption of more than 20 cigarettes/day was accompanied by increased dental caries activity (p < 0.000) and higher risk for increased severity of gingival inflammation (p < 0.000) of children in the HS group. Children of parents who smoke cigarettes and use the hubble/bubble anywhere in the house found to have greater distribution of HSPM (p < 0.000). Reduced sIgA values were found to be significantly associated with increased cotinine concentrations in HS children (p < 0.000).

CONCLUSIONS

Frequent exposure to household smoking could be associated with an increased risk of dental caries progression, enamel hypomineralization, gingival inflammation, and saliva characteristics changes in children.

DYNAMICS OF TOBACCO SMOKING PREVALENCE AMONG STUDENTS AND DIRECTIONS OF ITS PREVENTION

OBJECTIVE

The aim: To study the dynamics of tobacco smoking prevalence among students and to find out the main directions of its prevention.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Materials and methods: The research involved 647 students (men and women) of the first - fourth instructional years of pedagogical specialties. The research was conducted during 2020-2022. The research methods included analysis and generalization of literary source on the research topic, documentary method, questionnaires, pedagogical observation and statistical methods.

RESULTS

Results: It was found that the phenomenon of tobacco smoking has long historical roots and is widespread in all countries of the world. It was found that 32.4 % of male students and 14.9 % of female ones smoke; herewith, 16.0 % of male and 8.3 % of female students smoke up to 10 cigarettes per day. It is established that a number of normative legal documents have been adopted and a system of preventive measures has been developed in order to counteract smoking among students.

CONCLUSION

Conclusions: Smoking is a significant health and social problem the solution of which requires significant human and financial resources. Despite some achievements in this area, the active involvement of not only men, but also women, mainly students, in smoking is of particular concern. The use of tobacco products provokes a threat to the health of students and the population as a whole, which requires additional efforts on the part of society, government agencies and non-governmental organizations to prevent this addiction.

Assessing Smoking Habits, Attitudes, Knowledge, and Needs among University Students at the University of Milan, Italy

BACKGROUND

College campuses and universities are valuable settings for smoking prevention programs targeting young adults.

AIM

To investigate smoking habits, electronic cigarette (e-cig) and heated tobacco product (HTP) use, exposure to passive smoke, compliance with smoking bans on campus, attitudes toward the anti-smoking policies, and educational needs among students at the University of Milan, Italy.

METHODS

A validated questionnaire was web-submitted to 64,801 students in the period May-July 2021. For each item, the frequency was calculated and χ² test with Bonferroni correction was used to compare differences among the 10 faculties of the University.

RESULTS

7162 students participated in the survey, while 6605 questionnaires were included in this report (62% female, 84% aged 18-25 years). Sixty-four percent of participants were never smokers, 19% were smokers, 2.8% were e-cig or HTP users, 3.7% were dual smokers, 10% were former smokers, and 66% reported routinely spending free time with smokers. Almost all students were aware of the dangers of active and passive smoking of cigarettes, while about 20% did not have an opinion on the dangers of e-cigs/HTPs. Only 49% were aware of the smoking ban in the outdoor areas of the university. Students from the faculties of Law and Political, Economic, and Social Sciences smoked more frequently and were more frequently exposed to passive smoke than other students. Medicine students were the most aware of the dangers of passive smoking and using e-cigs/HTPs.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study in Italy involving the entire student population of a university and highlighting differences among faculties in terms of active and passive smoking and opinions. The results suggest that prevention campaigns addressed to students should consider their specific study curricula and give information tailored to the different educational needs to efficiently support health promotion.