A Cross Sectional Study on Knowledge, Beliefs and Psychosocial Predictors of Shisha Smoking among University Students in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Coumaravelou Saravanan,Amita Attlee,Nabil Sulaiman

doi:10.31557/apjcp.2019.20.3.903

Abstract

Background:Smoking is now prohibited in all educational institutions and other public places in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but shisha smoking is considered as one of the major problems among the students population. This study aimed to identify the (a) prevalence of ever shisha, current shisha and shisha dependency smokers among university students in the University of Sharjah (UOS), (b) knowledge and belief differences among ever shisha, current shisha as well as shisha dependency smoking students, (c) relationship between precipitating factors and shisha dependency and (d) precipitating factors (stimulation, handling, pleasure, tension reduction, addiction (dependency), automatism (habit) and social interaction, parents smoking behavior, knowledge and beliefs about smoking predict shisha dependency among students in UOS.Materials and Methods:In this cross sectional study, 633 students participated from UOS, UAE. Knowledge and Belief scale, Modified Reason for Smoking Scale and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) were used to measure knowledge, beliefs, shisha dependency and predictive factors of smoking behavior among undergraduate students in UOS.Results:Nearly103 (16.3%) of students were addictive to shisha smoking based on FTND. Students had adequate knowledge that smoking led to cardiac problems; however, their knowledge about the other consequences of smoking was inadequate and believed that smoking was not harmful. There was a significant positive relationship between addiction, pleasure, social interaction, habit, parental smoking behavior and shisha dependency behavior among current shisha dependency students. Habit, addiction, pleasure, social interaction and parental smoking were the predictors of shisha smoking dependency among this population. Step wise multiple regressions showed that social interaction was the highest significant predictor for shisha dependency behavior.Conclusions:Hence, there is a need to enhance the knowledge and modify irrational beliefs about shisha smoking as these students possess inadequate knowledge about consequences of shisha smoking.

Highlights

Smoking in any form leads to major health hazards (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2014)
This study aimed to identify the (a) prevalence of ever shisha, current shisha and shisha dependency smokers among university students in the University of Sharjah (UOS), (b) knowledge and belief differences among ever shisha, current shisha as well as shisha dependency smoking students, (c) relationship between precipitating factors and shisha dependency and (d) precipitating factors
This study was conducted to identify the prevalence of shisha smoking, differences in knowledge and beliefs among ever, current and shisha dependency, and at what extent precipitating factors such as stimulation, handling, pleasure, tension reduction, addiction, habit, social interaction, parents smoking behavior and knowledge about smoking predict shisha smoking dependency behavior among students from one of the leading universities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Summary

Introduction

Smoking in any form leads to major health hazards (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2014). Shisha is a water pipe made of clay, ornately carved metals or plastics, which enables smoking flavored tobacco as it is bubbled through water (Al-Kazwini et al, 2015). Shisha smoking session lasts from about 45 to 60 minutes to several hours (St Helen et al, 2014), thereby increasing the associated health risks For this reason American Society of Clinical Oncology (2018) warns people all over world not to smoke any forms as smoking affects the heath adversely. Knowledge and Belief scale, Modified Reason for Smoking Scale and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) were used to measure knowledge, beliefs, shisha dependency and predictive factors of smoking behavior among undergraduate students in UOS. Addiction, pleasure, social interaction and parental smoking were the predictors of shisha smoking dependency among this population. Conclusions: there is a need to enhance the knowledge and modify irrational beliefs about shisha smoking as these students possess inadequate knowledge about consequences of shisha smoking

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