BACKGROUND:Electronic cigarette (E-cigarette) is an electronic nicotine delivery device that has been advocated as a safe alternative for cigarette smokers. Since the introduction of E-cigarette internationally and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), it gained popularity, particularly among the youth and young adults. Moreover, many nonsmoker (nicotine-naïve) youth started to use E-cigarette as a new social habit. Recent researches have casted shadows on the E-cigarette safety profile.OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of E-cigarette use among students of health science colleges in Jeddah-KSA. It also assesses E-cigarette effectiveness as a smoking cessation method and its possible addictiveness.METHODS:The study is an epidemiological, cross-sectional study, which was conducted between November 2017 and December 2017 in three different universities in Jeddah. A self-administered online questionnaire related to E-cigarette and the conventional cigarette was used.RESULTS:A total of 1007 completed an electronic survey which was distributed to 3000 health sciences colleges' students. Of the participants 14.1% were cigarette smoker, 46% of them smoke regularly. Students who smoke half a pack per day and above were 22% of the smokers. More college students use the E-cigarette (27.7%). Moreover, one-fifth of the E-cigarettes users were using it on the regular daily basis. The study found that 42.7% of E-cigarettes users have used it as a tool to quit smoking. Interestingly, more than half (56.7%) of the students who used it to stop smoking has succeeded. However, only 46% of E-cigarettes users who tried to quit vaping have succeeded. Young aged, students believed that smoking is more addictive than vaping or recommended E-cigarette for smoking cessation found to have a higher chance of quitting smoking in the univariate regression analysis. While, in the multivariate analysis, students who believed that conventional smoking is more addictive than E-cigarettes; students started vaping to quit smoking, or used E-cigarettes with fruit flavor found to have significantly higher chance of quitting.CONCLUSION:The E-cigarettes vaping is more prevalent than conventional cigarette smoking among health sciences students in Jeddah-KSA. E-cigarettes are used as a tool to help smoking cessation in less than half of the user. E-cigarettes help some smokers to quit smoking. However, it seems as addictive to the users as conventional cigarette smoking.

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The subject of biophysics is interdisciplinary and covers various fields of biology and physics. In this research the effect of some parameters of Nd:YAG laser on ants (Camponotus consobrinus) has been studied    . This includes the effect on its external shape, as well as the percentage of the killing rate obtained. A laser radiation  of  a wavelength (1.064 µm) with different  energies: (300, 320, 340, 360, 380 and 480 mJ) was used to irradiate ants  placed at a distance  of (10 cm) distance  from the laser source . The irradiation times were (15 and 20 sec) for each energy. The obtained results showed an increase in the rate of ant  mortality, as well as an increase in deformations, as the laser energy and the irradiation time increased. These results were recorded after different time periods (12, 24, 48 and 72 hours) after laser treatment.. The thermal diffusion within the tissues resulting from laser radiation causes increased death rates due to damage of internal structures.

Background: Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are the main reason for the worldwide epidemic of chronic diseases. Changes in lifestyle, such as physical activity, healthy diet, and non-smoking, require preventive strategies at the national and individual levels. Clinical counseling is one of these strategies which helps patients to be motivated and enhance their self-management. The present study aimed to improve clinical counseling practice at the