Knowledge, attitudes and practices relating to tobacco smoking in undergraduate students in a selected university of Bangladesh

Background: Tobacco smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and mortality in the world, and is responsible for many premature deaths. The prevalence of smoking and smoking-related mortality are still high in developing and low-income countries. This survey was aimed to determine knowledge, perception and practices of tobacco smoking behavior in the undergraduate students of Bangladesh University of Health Sciences, Bangladesh.Methods: A descriptive type of cross-sectional study was conducted among the Health Sciences students during January 2018. A self-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used for data collection from 260 undergraduate students. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 (Statistical Package for Social Studies).Results: The prevalence of overall current tobacco smokers was 12.3% (21.2% for males and 0.9% for females). Nonsmokers had a better knowledge than smokers regarding smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer (98.4%; versus 92.9%; p=0.038), association between second hand smoke and serious illness (94.2% versus 82.9%; p<0.001) and likelihood of dying earlier than nonsmokers (84.2% versus 61.4%; p<0.001). In general, students had positive antismoking perception.Conclusions: Despite having a good understanding of the detrimental effects of tobacco smoking, smoking prevalence among students at Bangladesh University of Health Sciences is high. To reduce smoking among university students, effective smoking prevention and cessation intervention programs are necessary.