Frequency, Knowledge, Attitude and Intent to Stop Cigarette Smoking among Nursing Students

Background: Cigarette smoking is a foremost health-related problem worldwide that can lead to morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of cigarette smoking and cessation intentions vary from one country to another. However, smoking cessation is the single most effective preventive strategy for enhancing health and extending life. Objective: (a) To determine the frequency of cigarette smoking; (b) To assess the knowledge, attitude of cigarette smoking and intent to stop it (c) To identify the association of cigarette smoking with demographic variables. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two private nursing colleges in Karachi, from January to June 2019. The study included both male and female Nursing students. The non-probability convenience sampling technique was used to approach the participants. The chi-square test was applied to determine the significant association between cigarette smoking and demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, and language. p-value ≤0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Results: Out of 150 study participants, the smoking frequency was 16 (10.7%). Eighty-eight (58.7%) of the study participants had a fair knowledge of cigarette smoking in this study. About one-fifth of (18.7%) participants intended to quit smoking. Almost one-fourth (24%) of the study participants verbalized that their friends are smokers, while 15.3% of participants’ parents were smokers. Conclusion: It is concluded that nursing students had some knowledge about adverse health effects of tobacco use, and few participants intended to stop smoking. It is recommended that nursing institutions organize smoking cessation sessions periodically to avoid from detrimental effects of smoking.