title: Smoking among undergraduate students in the area of health.
abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between smoking and socio-demographic and behavioral factors among undergraduate students in the area of health at the State University of Paraíba, Brazil. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with a representative sample from each of the following courses: Dentistry, Nursing, Psychology, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy and Physical Education. A total of 492 students were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The chi-square and Fisher's Exact tests were used for statistical analysis at a 5% level of significance. Smoking prevalence was 5.7% and stress was the main reason for starting the habit (36.8%). In the multivariate analysis by logistic regression, the variables of gender, religious persuasion, semester attended in the course, and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with smoking (p<0.05). Although other studies reported a strong relationship between university students and smoking, the prevalence of smokers was low. Most of the variables studied revealed a correlation with smoking. Since smoking and alcohol consumption are the two major human addictions, this study suggests a bidirectional relationship between these variables.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de odontologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, Campina Grande, Paraíba. anaflaviagg@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ana Flávia
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Granville-Garcia
authors.forename: Dmitry José de Santana
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Sarmento
authors.forename: Jalber Almeida
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Tássia Almeida
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Raulison Vieira
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.forename: Alessandro Leite
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006281:Health Occupations; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult