Factors associated with smoking habits among undergraduate medical students: a cross-sectional study

Objectives Determination of smoking habits of medical students in Belgrade and the factors influencing cigarette use. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical students from all study years at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, during the 2015-2016 academic session. A questionnaire, composed of four parts, was administered to all participants: 1. socio-demographic characteristics; 2. habits and lifestyle; 3. Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence; 4. the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors significantly associated with cigarette smoking. Results A total of 2551 subjects, which constituted 81.8% of all undergraduate medical students, participated in the survey. The prevalence of current regular smokers among medical students was 21.7%. The results obtained using the Fagerstrom tolerance scale showed that 41.8% of the students had high nicotine dependence. According to the results of a multivariate analysis, the following were the independent determinants of being a smoker: being male, grade point average of <8/10, daily coffee consumption, self-reported excessive leisure time, self-reported pressure from parents, alcohol consumption, and smokers among parents. Conclusions Understanding the factors influencing tobacco use is the first step in implementing prevention strategies and can be helpful in the cessation of smoking.