title: Sociopsychological correlates of smoking among male university students in Bangladesh.
abstract: This study examined knowledge, attitude, prevalence, and factors affecting cigarette smoking among male students of a university in Bangladesh. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 474 students in 2009. Both quantitative and qualitative statistics were employed to examine the relationship between smoking and sociopsychological factors. Overall, 36.1% of the students were currently smoking. Significantly, more nonsmokers than smokers showed negative attitudes toward smoking and positive attitudes toward tobacco-controlling measures. Age, study streams and year, mother's education and occupation, monthly expenditure, and father's smoking appeared as important determinants of students' smoking. A multivariate logistic regression analysis yielded significantly (P < .001) increased risk of smoking among students of the Law and Shariah Faculty (odds ratio [OR] = 38.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.56-228.82), third-year students (OR = 7.18, 95% CI = 2.56-20.17), and urban residents (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.26-3.63). There is an urgent need for health promotion and anti-tobacco education in building a tobacco-free nation.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Mathematics and Economics, Islamic University, Kushtia, Bangladesh. kamaliubd@yahoo.com
authors.forename: S M Mostafa
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kamal
authors.forename: Md Aynul
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Md Anisur
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rahman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult