Tobacco use, secondhand exposure and knowledge of secondhand and third-hand smoke among medical college students in Western Nepal: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES

This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of tobacco use, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and knowledge about SHS and third-hand smoke (THS) exposure among students in a medical college in Western Nepal.

DESIGN

This is a cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Data collection was done from 8 July 2023 to 8 August 2023 in a medical college in Nepal.

PARTICIPANTS

This study was conducted on undergraduate students studying in a medical college in Western Nepal using a census (whole population) sampling technique.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Prevalence of tobacco use was assessed by asking a question, 'Did you use tobacco products within the last 30 days?'. Secondhand smoke exposure and knowledge about SHS and THS exposure were assessed by using structured questionnaires. The χ test was used to compare the group exposed and non-exposed to tobacco, SHS and THS by sociodemographic variables (sex, residence, year of study and academic stream).

RESULTS

The response rate was 96.43% (n=595/617). The overall prevalence of tobacco use was found to be 16.30%. A total of 88.83% of students from clinical years knew about SHS which was more than preclinical students (p <0.001). The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students have higher knowledge of SHS as compared with others (p =0.003). More than 95% of students favoured banning smoking in public places. Nearly half of the participants (45.45%) experienced SHS exposure in the last 7 days. More than half proportion of the clinical students knew about THS, which was higher than preclinical students and interns (p <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Tobacco use prevalence among the participants was found to be lower in comparison to other studies including medical students in several Asian countries. Despite more than three-fourths of students knowing the harmful effects of SHS exposure, almost one-half of them were exposed to SHS. The proportion of students who knew about THS exposure was comparably lower.