Waterpipe and cigarette tobacco smoking and depressive symptoms among public school students in central Jordan

Sukaina Alzyoud,Farah Massoud

doi:10.1108/jhr-09-2019-0209

Abstract

PurposeTobacco is the most widely used substance in the world that has been linked to several psychological problems. Few studies have assessed the relationship between dual (waterpipe and cigarette) tobacco smoking. This study aims to examine the relationship between dual tobacco use and symptoms of depression amongst its users.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional study using a random sample of school students was conducted to assess youth tobacco smoking in the central region of Jordan. A self-reported questionnaire including biographical information, smoking status and experience of depression symptoms was used with a sample of 9th to 12th-grade students. χ2 and regression test were used to analyze the data.FindingsThe final sample comprised 576 school students, of whom 60% were males. The age range was between 16 and 18 years (mean = 15.84 years, SD ± 0.97). 30% of the participants were dual tobacco smokers. A significant difference was found between males and females, with males being more likely to be dual tobacco smokers compared to females. Two depressive symptoms (“feeling sad” and “having crying spells”) had a significant likelihood amongst the youth who were dual smokers.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that aims to report the relationship between dual tobacco smoking and depressive symptoms. Prevention programs are crucial for raising awareness of the harmful effects of dual tobacco smoking and smoking cessation amongst the youth

Highlights

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking is considered to be one of the most pressing public health challenges
Study design A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used to assess dual tobacco smoking among youth waterpipe smokers for which a sample of Jordanian school students aged 16 to 18 years were recruited from a large central region of Jordan
The final sample included in this study included only those who reported waterpipe smoking (n 5 576) (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking is considered to be one of the most pressing public health challenges. Almost 17.6% of young people worldwide smoked tobacco products in 2015 [3]. Since the 1990s, an emerging and rapidly growing strain in the global tobacco epidemic has been a waterpipe (“hookah” or “shisha”), a centuries-old method of using tobacco with roots in the Middle East and Southeast Asia that has spread globally [4, 5]. Journal of Health Research Vol 35 No 3, 2021 pp. The full terms of this license may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/ legalcode

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