Medical Science
Volume 25, Issue 107, January, 2021
Prevalence of electronic cigarettes users among University of Ha’il health science students
Abdulilah Aldhmadi1♦, Abdulaziz Alhumaid1, Abdullah Alrasheed1, Hamoud Almatrood1, Mohammad Altraifi2, Fayez Alreshidi3
1College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
2Medical intern, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
3Assistant professor and Consultant family medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
♦Corresponding author
College of Medicine, University of Ha’il, Ha’il,
Saudi Arabia;
Email: aldhmadiA@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Background: In recent years, Electronic cigarettes became popular worldwide, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With the
lack of data regarding this subject, this study aims to assess the prevalence of electronic cigarette users among health science
students. Materials and Methods: Random cross-sectional study, including six different health science colleges and their students at
the University of Ha’il. Results: A total of 335 students completed the questionnaire, with only 22.98% smoking conventional
cigarettes, and 29.9% using electronic cigarettes. 31% of the electronic cigarette users are using it for entertainment purposes only.
More than three-fourths (77.7%) of the participants who used electronic cigarettes to quit smoking conventional cigarettes were
partially successful. When asked about addictiveness, almost half (46.2%) of those aged between 19 and 22 believed that both
conventional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes are equally addictive. Conclusion: Electronic cigarettes use is common among
health science students, mostly for entertainment purposes. Electronic cigarettes are more prevalent than conventional cigarettes
among health science students and have not been proven as a successful method to stop conventional cigarettes.
Keywords: Electronic cigarettes, Conventional cigarettes, Health science students, University of Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
Medical Science, 2021, 25(107), 240-246
