Cigarette smoking habits among paramedical students in Baghdad- Iraq

الملخص

Objective: to analyze and descrbe the prevalence of cigarette smoking, attitude among paramedical students.
Methods & materials: Across- Sectional study was done among the paramedical students in central medical institutes (as Institute of Medical
 echnology -Baghdad, institute of medical technology Al- Mansur- Baghdad. This study was conducted from October 2008 to April 2009. students ages 22 to 24 years, They were randomly selected from the first and second study level Global Adult Tobacco Survey based questionnaire. Was used the first part of the questionnaire contained demographic data and the second part contained various questions about smoking habit and attitude. Results: The study revealed that 50 (8.3%) of student were smoker. The prevalence of smoking was (19.6%) among males, and (0.0%) among females, smoking was more common in males than females (p=0.001), while the never smoked more among females than males (p< 0003).The main sources for initiating smoking habit are friends, parents, and media.
Conclusion: (19.6%) of males and (0.0%) of females paramedical students in institute of medical technology , anti tobacco education and awareness should be adopted in the curriculum of school and colleges.