Prevalence of the Use of Modern Tobacco and Nicotine-Containing Products Among Students of Leading Universities in Lviv

Objective — to analyze the prevalence of tobacco and nicotine-containing smoking products (TNSP) among students of Lviv universities, the reasons for their popularity, factors influencing smoking cessation and awareness of the impact of these products on health. Materials and methods. An anonymous survey was conducted among students of leading universities in Lviv (273 participants, including 120 males and 153 females, average age — 20.0 years). A questionnaire was developed for the survey, consisting of 31 questions related to identifying harmful habits, type, onset and duration of smoking, motivation for starting and quitting, and awareness of the harmful effects of TNSP on health. Results and discussion. The prevalence of TNSP consumption among students was 40.7 %, with 63.1 % of smokers smoking daily. There were significantly more male smokers than female smokers (55.8% vs. 28.8 %; p < 0.01). 52.8 % of students experienced systematic passive smoking. Most respondents described their attitude toward smoking as neutral (56.0 %), while a third characterized it as negative (35.5 %). Meanwhile, 65.6 % of respondents noted that there were no positive aspects to smoking, but every third (34.4 %) believed there were. The formation of the harmful habit was driven by a desire to relieve stress (58.5 %), relax (51.5 %), and experience satisfaction (44.2 %). In 64.0 % of students, there are smokers in the family. Most surveyed smokers used electronic (69.4%) and regular cigarettes (54.1 %), less frequently hookah (42.3%) and tobacco products for electric heating (41.4 %). Women smoked regular cigarettes much less often than men (38.6 vs. 64.2 %; p < 0.01). According to the respondents, the main factors that could influence smoking cessation were the identification of health problems caused by smoking (52.3 %) and the appearance of children (40.9 %). Every second respondent (58.5 %) did not plan to quit smoking in the near future. Factors hindering students from quitting smoking were constant stress (39.6 %), the presence of smokers in the environment (30.6 %) and nicotine/psychological dependence (27.0 %). Despite more than 77 % considering themselves informed about the effects of TNSP, 52.8 % claimed that hookah use is safe for health, while 24.9 and 18.4 % lacked information on whether tobacco products for electric heating and electronic cigarettes are a safe alternative to regular cigarettes. According to 66.2 % of respondents, it is necessary to disseminate information about the health impact of modern TNSP among students. Conclusions. The obtained results indicate the need to develop effective strategies to influence student youth to prevent the use of TNSP. It is crucial to disseminate evidence-based information about the impact of TNSP on human health and address stress in universities.