Mohammad Naeem, Samrina Khan, Syed Hussain Abbas, Ayasha Khan, Muhammad Zia-ul Islam Khan.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Tobacco Smoking among Medical Students in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
J Med Sci Jan ;26(1):3-8.

Objectives: To find the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding tobacco smoking in medical students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Material and Methods: This descriptive study was based on convenient sampling in 5 major medical colleges. The study took place from January 2016 to April 2016. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data about knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding smoking and demographic profile. Results: Out of 1071, 248 (23.1%) had smoked at least once in their life while 176 (16.54%) were current smokers. Out of 248 smokers the major causes for initiating smoking were ?on insistence of friends? 92(37.1 %), curiosity 73(29.4%) and stress relief 43(17.3 %). Among current smokers (n=176) the most common reasons for not quitting smoking were addiction (n=71, 40.0%) and stress relief (n=36, 20.7%). One fourty-eight (59.6%) of smokers wanted to quit smoking. Most Students had positive attitudes like giving help to their smoking patients, supporting bans in public places and on advertisements. Majority students had knowledge on famous hazards of tobacco smoking like lung cancer and heart diseases but insufficient knowledge on other hazards. Conclusion: Smoking in medical students is still a matter of concern. Strict measures should be taken to discourage smoking.

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