Prevalence of smoking and environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and attitudes and beliefs towards tobacco control among Hong Kong medical students

Abstract

To investigate the prevalence of active smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure among medical students in Hong Kong, and their attitudes and beliefs towards tobacco control. A cross-sectional survey with a self-administrated questionnaire. All medical students from a university in Hong Kong were invited to participate in this survey and completed structured questionnaires. Descriptive data analyses were performed. In total, 313 medical students participated in this study (response rate 44.7%). Only 7.2% [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.3-10.1] reported having ever smoked and 0.7% (95% CI 0-1.6%) were current smokers. ETS exposure at home was reported by 19.3% (95% CI 14.9-23.8) of students, but the proportion of ETS exposure in public places was much higher (61.6%, 95% CI 56.2-67.1%). More than 85% of students had positive attitudes towards tobacco control, but 30.8% (95% CI 25.6-36.0) disagreed with banning smoking in disco/bars/pubs. Although the majority (93.1%, 95% CI 90.3-96.0) of students thought that health professionals should receive specific training for counselling on smoking cessation, only 38.0% (95% CI 32.5-43.5) reported having received any formal training in this area. This study suggests that a specific professional training programme, including counselling on smoking cessation and actions on legislation and tobacco tax policy, should be built into the undergraduate medical curriculum.