WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Dr. Sarah Abbas Fadhil and Dr. Sahar A. E. Al Shatari

ABSTRACT

Background: The transition from adolescence to adulthood involves a variety of physical, behavioral, and social transformations, often including tobacco use. Objective: this study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice of female college students in Baghdad City toward smoking with examining the associations with some demographic features. Methods: a cross-sectional study with analytical element was conducted in multiple universities in Baghdad city, through the period (1stNovember\2023-31stAugust\2024) by using a pre-designed self-administered Arabic questionnaire which was modified from the WHO Global Youth Tobacco Survey Questionnaire.[1] The collected data reformulated by using Microsoft Excel to fit the coding, and analyzed by using SPSS v.27. Chi-square test for independence was used to test the significance of associations between discrete variables. Findings with P value less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: The total sample was 182 participants with 20 smoking female student. The largest percentage of participants is from College of Computer Engineering, 32 (17.6%), from fourth grade 62 (34.1%), with Mean age 21.68 ±3.200, with most responding participants, 136 (74.7%), were between 21 and 24 years old, never married 175 (96.2%), lived in a family‘s house 179 (98.4%), and both parents alive and are living together 149 (81.9%). In terms of smoking status, 162 (89.0%) of the participants were non-smokers, 14 (7.7%) x smokers and only 6 (3.3%) were still smoking till the time of data collection. Most students, 156 (85.7%), answered D.M. incorrectly, 160 (87.9%) answered Lung Cancer correctly, when interviewed about the disease smoking can cause; 139 (76.4%) regarded smoking hookah as less harmful than smoking cigarettes, and 168 (92.3%) students regarded second-hand smoke as being harmful. Fair Overall knowledge, is the level of knowledge about smoking most female participants showed, which corresponds to 98 (53.8%), while 42 (23.1%) of participants had good overall knowledge and 42 (23.1%) of them had poor overall knowledge. The highest level of attitude toward smoking displayed through participants‘ support of a law that would prohibit smoking was established by 170 (93.4%) female students. While 12 (6.6%) did not prefer such a law. Most of them expressed a regretting feeling toward their own smoking behavior, which accounts for 13 (65.0%) students, while seven (35.0%) still proud of their smoking behavior. Displaying their perception about smoking, 168 (92.3%) students rejected the thought of a smoking future husband with similar value of students refusing to allow their future children to smoke, and half of the smoking participants, 11 (6.0%), mentioned the negative effect smoking causes on their pocket money. Seventeen, (85.0%) smoking students indicated that they did not encourage others to smoke despite their own smoking status. High attitude toward smoking had the greatest attitude level, with 160 (87.9%) students. ?Friends? had the highest score (8 students, 40%) as the smoking motivating source; ?psychological pressure? recorded by 10 (50%) students as the main reason for smoking initiation; the most popular smoking device among students was Cigarettes, 8 participants (40%); 15 (75%) chose to smoke in secret settings; 16 (80%) respondents stated not going to restaurants and coffee shops specifically to smoke; 15 (75%) smoking students stated less than a year smoking journey; 14 (70%) smoking students received no guidance from medical professionals about smoking cessation, and, 13 (65%) students, actually tried to quit smoking within the last 12 months.Conclusion: The highest percentage of smoking participants belonged to college of Literature, using Cigarettes, followed by E-Cigarettes then Hookah as the main tool of smoking.