Predictors of Waterpipe Smoking among Male Students of Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia

Background: Smoking is the leading cause of preventable premature death worldwide. Therefore, tobacco consumption is labeled as one of the major threats to public health. Aim of Study: To identify predictors of waterpipe smoking among male students of Jazan university. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate characteristics and factors associated with tobacco use among 409 undergraduate male students in Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated questionnaire was used for data collection. It consists of 26 questions in 3 domains, covering demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of participants, tobacco use history, and factors associated with waterpipe use. Results: A total of 409 university students took part in this study. About three-quarters of students (73.8%) reported having a friend who smokes waterpipe and 37.7% had a sibling who smokes waterpipe, while 15.2% and 2.4% of participants had fathers and mothers who smoke waterpipe. respectively. Moreover, 22.1% of waterpipe smoker students reported that they smoke waterpipe once a day, 12.6% smoke twice a week, 9.1% smoke once a week, 14.7% smoke once a month and 16.9% smoke once a year. For students who smoke waterpipe, the average number of smoking times was 16 times during the last month, 5 times during the last week and twice during the last day. Regardless of waterpipe smoking. 48.4% of students try to smoke cigarettes at least once. Conclusions: The main factors associated with waterpipe smoking are age, monthly income, and having a father, siblings or friends who smoke waterpipe. Furthermore, students who smoke cigarettes or tobacco or have many friends who smoke waterpipe are significantly more likely to engage in waterpipe smoking.