Prevalence and Determinants of Cigarette Smoking among the College Students of Kathmandu Valley

Authors

  • Umesh Raj Aryal Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, Affiliated to Kathmandu University, Kathmandu
  • Keshab Deuba Department of Public Health, Nobel College, Affilated to Pokhara University, Kathmandu
  • Arjun Subedi Department of Public Health, Nobel College, Affilated to Pokhara University, Kathmandu
  • Rachana Shrestha Department of Public Health, Nobel College, Affilated to Pokhara University, Kathmandu
  • Laxmi Bhatta Department of Public Health, Nobel College, Affilated to Pokhara University, Kathmandu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v1i2.3279

Keywords:

Cigarette smoking, College students, Prevalence of smoking, Risk factors

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of smoking among the college students and to identify the factors associated with smoking.
Material & Methods: This is a cross sectional study carried out on 304 college students in Kathmandu valley using purposive sampling during the months of December 2009 to January 2010. The self administrated questionnaire was adopted from Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2007 (GYTS) and data were collected after the verbal consent taken. The statistical analysis was done using descriptive statistics, univariate and binary logistic regression to measure prevalence of smoking and to identify the association between dependent and independent variables.
Results: We found 7 in 10 students were currently smokers. Among currently smokers, 78% were established smokers. The mean age of smoking onset was 14.15 years (SD=2.62). The mean number of cigarettes smoked per day was 5.03(SD=3.72) and average daily expenditure was Rs. 15.18 (SD=7.87). About 90% students tried to quit smoking and 17% non smokers were susceptibility smokers. The following factors: sex (adjusted odds ratio(aor)=3.88,95% CI= 2.12;7.11), living with or without family members (aor=1.79,95% CI=1.01;3.17), father occupation (aor=1.85,95% CI=1.04;3.30), and friend's smoking habits (aor=4.60,95% CI =1.92;11.0) were associated with cigarette smoking.
Conclusion: There is the need of effective intervention programs to control cigarette smoking among college students.

Key Words: Cigarette smoking; College students; Prevalence of smoking; Risk factors

DOI: 10.3126/ajms.v1i2.3279

Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 1 (2010) 53-58

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Author Biography

Umesh Raj Aryal, Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, Affiliated to Kathmandu University, Kathmandu

 

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Published

2011-01-14

How to Cite

Aryal, U. R., Deuba, K., Subedi, A., Shrestha, R., & Bhatta, L. (2011). Prevalence and Determinants of Cigarette Smoking among the College Students of Kathmandu Valley. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences, 1(2), 53–58. https://doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v1i2.3279

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Original Articles