Assessment of Perception of Medical Students in Regard to Links between Tobacco or Alcohol Use and Cancer

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to assess cancer awareness among medical students in Saudi Arabia toward tobacco and alcohol use as risk factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey from October to December 2014, covering 1200 medical students, was performed. Results: Of the total, 975 (81.25%) responded. The male to female ratio was 1.00:7.125. 96/975 (9.8%) had smoked tobacco in their lifetime, and 51/975 (5.23%) were alcoholic beverage consumers. On asking them whether tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption can cause cancer, only 4/975 (0.4%) and 14/975 (1.43%) answered no for smoking and alcohol, respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of smoking and alcohol use is very low among medical students, which might be due to high female contribution besides social stigma. The prevalence of second-hand smoke (SHS) was found to be very high in Hail region.

Molecular Screening for PTEN Gene Mutation Among Cigarette Smokers and Assessment of Knowledge of the Link Between Tobacco Use, and Cancer Among Saudi Population.

“…In a recent study from the same area, measured the perception of medical student toward tobacco alcohol consumption and its association with cancer, when asking participants about the relationship between cigarette smoking and cancer, 8.2% disagreed and the remaining 91.8% have agreed that smoking can cause cancer. 15 This relatively higher level of awareness compared to the present study might be attributed to the fact that all of the participants in the later study 15 , were medical students.…”

Population insight of the relationship between lifestyle and cancer: A population-based survey

“…There is a substantial rise in the incidence of some cancers in Saudi Arabia in recent years due to several etiological risk factors, which differ for different geographical regions in the country [6]. Life style models and lack of awareness are the most common factors expected to contribute to substantial increase in the incidence of cancer in Saudi Arabia [7]–[11]. Increase of age in general population as well as, obesity are the most challenging factors contributing to the etiology of cancer in Saudi Arabia [12].…”

Molecular Screening for P53 Mutations among Tobacco Smokers in a Surveyof Awareness of Links between Tobacco, Alcohol Use and Cancer in Saudi Arabia

“…Out of the 879 never smoked individuals, 440/879 (50.07%) were living with tobacco smokers. Of the 51 alcohol consumers, only 9/51 (17.6%) were currently alcoholic and the remaining 42/51 (82.4%) had quit alcohol consumption (Alshammari, et al,2015).…”