Predictors of Waterpipe Smoking among Male Students of Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia

Background: Smoking is the leading cause of preventable premature death worldwide. Therefore, tobacco consumption is labeled as one of the major threats to public health. Aim of Study: To identify predictors of waterpipe smoking among male students of Jazan university. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate characteristics and factors associated with tobacco use among 409 undergraduate male students in Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated questionnaire was used for data collection. It consists of 26 questions in 3 domains, covering demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of participants, tobacco use history, and factors associated with waterpipe use. Results: A total of 409 university students took part in this study. About three-quarters of students (73.8%) reported having a friend who smokes waterpipe and 37.7% had a sibling who smokes waterpipe, while 15.2% and 2.4% of participants had fathers and mothers who smoke waterpipe, respectively. Moreover, 22.1% of waterpipe smoker students reported that they smoke waterpipe once a day, 12.6% smoke twice a week, 9.1% smoke once a week, 14.7% smoke once a month and 16.9% smoke once a year. For students who smoke waterpipe, the average number of smoking times was 16 times during the last month, 5 times during the last week and twice during the last day. Regardless of waterpipe smoking, 48.4% of students try to smoke cigarettes at least once. Conclusions: The main factors associated with waterpipe smoking are age, monthly income, and having a father, siblings or friends who smoke waterpipe. Furthermore, students who smoke cigarettes or tobacco or have many friends who smoke waterpipe are significantly more likely to engage in waterpipe smoking. Key Words: Smoking, waterpipe, cigarette, nicotine, university students, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.