Prevalence of Smoking among Medical Students in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco smoking is one of the most important preventable risk factors for noncommunicable diseases. It has been seen that medical students have a higher frequency of smokingcompared to the general population. This study aims to determine the prevalence of smoking amongthird-year medical students in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Nepal. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the hospital’s third-yearundergraduate medical students over a four-month period (October 2019 to January 2020). Ethicalclearance was received from the Institutional Review Committee of Kathmandu Medical Collegeand Teaching Hospital. The whole sampling technique was used to collect data. The Global HealthProfessional Students Survey questionnaire was used to collect data. Data analysis was done in thestatistical package for social sciences. Results: The prevalence of current smoking among selected medical students of Kathmandu MedicalCollege and Teaching Hospital is 34 (30.1%), majority male 26 (23%). Fifty-six (49.4%) of them hadever smoked cigarettes in their life, and 27 (23.9%) had their first cigarette in late adolescence. Thenumber of students who used other forms of tobacco was comparatively lower i.e. 6 (5.3%). Manyof the students 53 (46.9%) were exposed to second-hand smoke both at home and in public, while 18(15.9) exposed only at public places, and 6 (5.3%) only at home. Conclusions: Our study has concluded that there is a notable prevalence of smoking among theparticipants. This points to the need for specific training sessions in their clinical years about smokingcessation for themselves and regarding counseling for patients.