Attitudes and Knowledge of the Harmful Effects of Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking among university students: A study from Jordan

Abstract

Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) is an emerging behavior worldwide, especially among the youth. It continues to spike in the Middle-Eastern region. WTS is associated with many harmful health-related outcomes. Objective: Herein, the attitude, knowledge, and factors affecting the knowledge of university students toward the detrimental effects of WTS were examined. This was a cross-sectional study where university students filled an online questionnaire that was available between October 2019 and May 2020. A total of 966 questionnaires were filled. About 40% of participants were current waterpipe smokers. Around 30% of participants stated that WTS is not addictive, and about third of them indicated that smoking waterpipe is an essential part of social gathering and is socially accepted behavior. Half of participants (55.8%) were knowledgeable about the major harmful consequences of WTS. Older students were more knowledgeable as compared to younger ones. In contrast, students from non-medical colleges and waterpipe smokers were less knowledgeable in comparison to those in medical colleges and non-smokers, respectively. More targeted health campaigns to control the use of WTS among university students should be implemented.