Awareness of Smoking Tobacco among Dental College Students: A Questionnaire-based Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Tobacco smoking is one of the 10(th) leading health indicators proposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Healthy People 2020, with major concerns regarding increased mortality rates. Tobacco smoke contains 2.94 mg of nicotine, 802 mg of tar, 145 mg of carbon monoxide, and greater quantities of chrysene. Hookah tobacco poses a serious health threat because of the commonly held belief among college students that this tobacco product is not addictive. Assessing practices represents an important starting point in curbing the spread of tobacco use. It is crucial to understand the use, patterns, and dependence on tobacco to develop appropriate prevention and cessation strategies. Aim: To assess tobacco smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices among students of dental Institutions in Lucknow city, Uttar Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among five dental colleges in Lucknow city from July 2023 to November 2023. A total of 1050 undergraduate dental students were included in the study, and a self-structured, close-ended questionnaire was used to collect information on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of hookah tobacco. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach's coefficient alpha to measure internal consistency, which was found to be 0.9. Discrete (categorical) data were summarised in numbers (n) and percentages (%). Categorical groups were compared by Chi-square (chi(2)) test. Results: Out of the total 1050 students, 392 (37.3%) were aged between 18-21 years, 630 (60.0%) were aged between 22-25 years, and 28 (2.7%) were aged between 26-30 years. Furthermore, among the students, 355 (33.8%) were females and 695 (66.2%) were males. Among the total of 1050 dental students, the prevalence of hookah smoking was 59.1%. The presence or prevalence of hookah smoking was higher in males (29.4%) at 480 (45.7%) than in females 141 (13.4%), and the difference was statistically significant ( chi(2 ) =83.75, p<0.001). Conclusion: The study found that the frequency of hookah smoking continues to increase with the increasing age of the participants. The study also revealed the alarming situation of a high prevalence of hookah smoking among dental college students.