Effect of Age and Gender on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Shisha Smoking among Medical and Dental Students of Karachi, Pakistan

Authors

  • Nazeer B Khan Department of Research, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Sundus lftikhar Department of Research, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Muhammad Umer Siddiqui Department of Medicine, Civil Hospital Karachi, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Adnan Ahmed Padhiar Department of Medicine, Civil Hospital Karachi, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Syed Affanulhaq Department of Medicine, Civil Hospital Karachi, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.

Keywords:

Shisha smoking, medical students, effect of gende, effect of age-groups, Pakistan

Abstract

Objective:

To determine the effects o f age and gender on knowledge, attitude and practice o f Shisha smokingamong medical and dental students ofKarachi, Pakistan.

Methodology:

This cross sectional survey was conducted in 2007 among 7 colleges randomly chosen from20 medical and dental colleges ofKarachi. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the studentsduring the class hours. The questionnaire contained demographic information, area o f study (medicine/dentistry),year o f study, smoking habits, frequency and place o f smoking, attitude and knowledge o f diseases related toshisha smoking.

Results:

Out of 1204 participants, 22.8% indicated that they smoked shisha. The prevalence among males andfemales were 41% and 16.9%, respectively. Only 35% o f the respondents indicated that they smoked shisha“daily†or weakly. 47.5% mentioned that they used shisha bar for shisha smoking. 67% o f the respondentsshowed that they were influenced by friends to adopt this habit. 59% of the students considered shisha smokingharmful. 62% o f the students related the shisha smoking to lung diseases and about quarter o f the respondentsrelated it to cancer and heart diseases. 

Conclusion:

The study concludes that a high prevalence o f shisha smoking exists among medical/dentalstudents and knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) among males are significantly different in m any respectsto the females. However, the age groups do not affect significantly in m ost o f the responses.

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Author Biography

Nazeer B Khan, Department of Research, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan.

Research Department

Director of Research

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Published

2010-12-16

How to Cite

Khan, N. B., lftikhar, S. ., Umer Siddiqui, M. ., Ahmed Padhiar, A. ., & Affanulhaq, S. . (2010). Effect of Age and Gender on the Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Shisha Smoking among Medical and Dental Students of Karachi, Pakistan. Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences (JDUHS), 4(3), 107–112. Retrieved from https://mail.jduhs.com/index.php/jduhs/article/view/1338

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Original Articles