Abstract:
Objective To investigate the smoking prevalence and tobacco-related knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) among college students, so as to provide scientific evidence to improve tobacco control in this population group.
Methods A questionnaire survey on KAP towards smoking and tobacco control was conducted among college students selected from 3 universities (1 medical college and 2 non-medical colleges).
Results A total of 2 500 college students were investigated and 2 472 questionnaires were valid (98.9% response rate). The smoking rate was 21.9% (542) for all the college students selected, in which 34.8% (506) were for males and 3.5% (36) were for females (P< 0.001). Smoking behavior was associated with the knowledge and attitudes about smoking and tobacco control (P< 0.05). The results of multivariate analysis showed that the risk factors of smoking behavior included male, in creasing age, non-medical students, township settlement, sophomore, poor awareness of tobacco hazards, tolerant of passive smoking, and positive attitude towards others smoking.
Conclusion The smoking behavior among the college students is related with the knowledge and attitude towards smoking and tobacco control.