Cigarette smoking practice and attitudes, and proposed effective smoking cessation measures among college student smokers in China

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the average daily consumption of cigarettes and its correlates, attitudes toward smoking, and suggestions for anti‐smoking measures in a sample of Chinese college student smokers.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 150 college student cigarette smokers in Baoding, a city near Beijing, filled out a questionnaire asking about their average daily consumption of cigarettes, attitude toward smoking and their opinions on how they might control their smoking behavior.FindingsIn total, 85.3 percent of the smoking students were males and 14.7 percent females, and males had started smoking earlier. However, and surprisingly, the average daily consumption among females was greater than among males (9.6 vs 5.6 cigarettes a day, p<0.01). Average daily cigarette consumption was significantly associated with perceived health condition (students who thought themselves in poorer health consumed more), perceived risk of cigarette smoking (but with those who thought it harmful actually consuming more than those who did not), frequency of offering cigarettes as gifts, and perceived enjoyment from smoking. The three most commonly reported measures which curbed smoking were friends' or classmates' suggestions, the urging of a boyfriend/girlfriend, and the urging of parents.Practical implicationsFindings in this paper underscore the importance of developing effective smoking cessation programs through gender‐specific approaches at post‐secondary educational institutions as well as coordinating anti‐smoking efforts at multiple levels of educational administration in China.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the few studies on Chinese college students' cigarette smoking practices and student smokers' attitudes toward cigarette smoking. It also reports for the first time possible effective anti‐smoking measures as suggested by the students themselves. The value of this study lies in the finding that cigarette smoking among highly educated individuals in China is on the rise and vigorous research on the smoking behavior of this group should be a high priority.