Smoking is a global problem, which is the leading cause of preventablemortality and morbidity. However, prevalence of tobacco use is increasing among young people.
The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of smoking among dental medicinestudents, types of tobacco products being used , duration and frequency of smoking.
Methods: By aquestionnaire, participation in which was anonymous and voluntary, information was collected from students at the Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University - Plovdiv, Bulgaria, about gender, age, smoking status, types of tobacco products being used, the frequency and duration of smoking.
Results: Of the 618 studentssurveyed, 256 (41,42%) are male and 362 (58.58%) are female. The mean age of the participants was 22,82 ± 2,72 years. Of all studentssurveyed, smokers are 224 (36,25%) and non-smokers - 394 (63,75%). 33,70% of the women and 39,84% of the menuse tobacco products. The sex distribution of smokers was 45,54% (n = 102) to men and 54,46% (n = 122) to women. Of the 224 studentswho use tobacco products, 182 (81,25%) smoke ordinarycigarettes, 39 (17,41%) –smoke smokeless cigarettes, 15 (6,69%) - smokeelectroniccigarettes with nicotine liquid, 5 (2,23%) -smoke pipe, and 3 (1,33%) chew tobacco. Of 224 smokers, 76 (33,92%) use 1 to 5 cigarettes per day, 56 (25,0%) use 5 to 10 cigarettes per day, 52 (23,21%) use 10 to 15 cigarettes per day. per day, 30 (13,39%) use 15 to 20 cigarettes per day, 9 (4,01%) use 20-30 cigarettes per day, 1 (0,44%) use 30-40 cigarettes per day. Of all the smokerstudents, 25 (11,16%) have been smoking for less than 1 year, 129 (57,58%) for 1-5 years, 61 (27,23%) for 5-10 years, and 9 ( 4,01%) for 10-20 years.
Conclusions: Smoking is very common among dental medicine students. This necessitates the development of more programsfor quitting tobacco products use, raise awareness of its harmful effects and promote the fight against smoking.
smoking, cigarettes, students, prevalence