Traditional smoking and e-smoking among medical students and students-athletes – popularity and motivation

Abstract

Background. Of particular interest is a study of the consumption rates of some psychoactive drugs in a specific group of medical students and students-athletes, who are advocates of a healthy lifestyle according to their occupation. Objectives. The purpose of this paper was the evaluation of the prevalence of tobacco smoking and e-cigarette smoking (vaping) among medical students and students-athletes and the research of students' motivation and attitudes towards smoking in its various forms. Material and methods. 1,725 medical students and students-athletes were surveyed. All the respondents were divided into 4 groups: exclusive tobacco smokers, exclusive e-cigarette smokers, dual smokers (both e-cigarette and tobacco cigarette users), non-smoking students who hadn't smoked for at least 12 months. Results. 1,515 of the surveyed students (87.8%) declared themselves as non-smokers, 160 (9.3%) respondents smoked traditional cigarettes. E-cigarettes were used much less often than traditional cigarettes-50 respondents (2.8%). One-time tobacco smoking was recorded in the medical history of 992 (57.5%) of students; e-smoking-780 (45.2%). Statistically, men appeared to have been twice as common as women among both tobacco and e-cigarette smokers. Dual smokers used traditional cigarettes less often than electronic cigarettes. This group more often chose e-liquid with a higher level of nicotine. An attempt to stop smoking was the most important stimulus of opting for vaping (90.5%). Conclusions. Among the students of both groups, vaping is not frequent and not a popular practice compared to traditional tobacco smoking. Everyday smokers prevailed among dual smokers and not among exclusive e-cigarette smokers. E-smokers, more often than other respondents, believe that vaping is safe for their health and the health of others.

Polish e-cigarettes: users reasons to start vaping – a survey of 1142 Polish vapers

“…in a study on medical students and medical athletes by shpakou et al, the youngest age of first attempt of smoking regular cigarettes was 12 years. Moreover, the traditional cigarette was listed as the first tobacco product to be smoked by a majority of participants (88.7%) [8]. the minimum age of participant in our study was 13, which confirms that the youngest teenagers are already experimenting with electronic cigarettes.…”

“…this study was also conducted on students [5]. other studies also dealt with the topic, but the subjects were mainly adolescents or students [6][7][8]. the lack of general population-based studies regarding motivation for vaping has lead us to design the following research.…”

E-cigarette use and its predictors: Results from an online cross-sectional survey in Poland

“…However, the study was conducted also on students 13 . While other studies have also examined the topic, the subjects were mainly adolescents or students 14,15 .…”

Religious Education, Smoking Laws and Islamic Organisations with Mosque Worshipers Smoking Behaviour

“…Smoking behavior is also carried out by men and women (Kementrian Kesehatan RI, 2018). Smokers always have reasons to smoke, for example, because some types of cigarettes do not cause health problems, smoking can trigger support from friends and family, and smoking can relieve Vol 4 Page183 loneliness (Shpakou, 2018;Mirnawati, 2018;Sutha, 2016).…”