Tobacco use, secondhand exposure and knowledge of secondhand and third-hand smoke among medical college students in Western Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of tobacco use, secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and knowledge about SHS and third-hand smoke (THS) exposure among students in a medical college in Western Nepal.Design This is a cross-sectional study.Setting Data collection was done from 8 July 2023 to 8 August 2023 in a medical college in Nepal.Participants This study was conducted on undergraduate students studying in a medical college in Western Nepal using a census (whole population) sampling technique.Main outcome measures Prevalence of tobacco use was assessed by asking a question, ‘Did you use tobacco products within the last 30 days?’. Secondhand smoke exposure and knowledge about SHS and THS exposure were assessed by using structured questionnaires. The χ2 test was used to compare the group exposed and non-exposed to tobacco, SHS and THS by sociodemographic variables (sex, residence, year of study and academic stream).Results The response rate was 96.43% (n=595/617). The overall prevalence of tobacco use was found to be 16.30%. A total of 88.83% of students from clinical years knew about SHS which was more than preclinical students (p <0.001). The Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students have higher knowledge of SHS as compared with others (p =0.003). More than 95% of students favoured banning smoking in public places. Nearly half of the participants (45.45%) experienced SHS exposure in the last 7 days. More than half proportion of the clinical students knew about THS, which was higher than preclinical students and interns (p <0.001).Conclusions Tobacco use prevalence among the participants was found to be lower in comparison to other studies including medical students in several Asian countries. Despite more than three-fourths of students knowing the harmful effects of SHS exposure, almost one-half of them were exposed to SHS. The proportion of students who knew about THS exposure was comparably lower.