Assessment of perception of medical students in regard to links between tobacco or alcohol use and cancer

• Published in: Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP Vol. 16; no. 7; p. 2697
• Main Authors: Alshammari, Fawaz Dabea, Khalifa, Amany M, Kosba, Ayman Ahmed, Khalil, Nuhar A, Ali, Safia M, Hassouna, Mona M, Elawad, Gamal Mohamed, Ginaw, Ibrahim Abdelmajeed, Ahmed, Hussain Gadelkarim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thailand 2015
• Subjects: Adult; Alcohol Drinking - adverse effects; Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Neoplasms - etiology; Risk Factors; Saudi Arabia - epidemiology; Smoking - adverse effects; Smoking - epidemiology; Students, Medical - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tobacco Smoke Pollution; Young Adult; Saudi Arabia
• ISSN: 2476-762X

The aim of this study was to assess cancer awareness among medical students in Saudi Arabia toward tobacco and alcohol use as risk factors. A cross-sectional survey from October to December 2014, covering 1200 medical students, was performed. Of the total, 975 (81.25%) responded. The male to female ratio was 1.00:7.125. 96/975 (9.8%) had smoked tobacco in their lifetime, and 51/975 (5.23%) were alcoholic beverage consumers. On asking them whether tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption can cause cancer, only 4/975 (0.4%) and 14/975 (1.43%) answered no for smoking and alcohol, respectively. The prevalence of smoking and alcohol use is very low among medical students, which might be due to high female contribution besides social stigma. The prevalence of second-hand smoke (SHS) was found to be very high in Hail region.