E-Cigarette and Tobacco Consumption Patterns in Medical University Students

<bold>Background:</bold> A major public health hazard is youth e-cigarette (EC) use. Although new, EC health hazards are becoming well-known in the literature. EC sales restrictions and laws differ globally. <bold>Aim:</bold> This cross-sectional study studied medical university students' tobacco and EC use and characteristics in an EC-ban country. <bold>Methods:</bold> We used a web-based student information system to send a questionnaire. The questionnaire asked 54 questions about tobacco usage, EC use, smoking students' addiction levels, and their views on e-cigarette risks. <bold>Results:</bold> The study included 705 students (45.5% male) aged 21.1 ± 2.6 years who completed the questionnaire. 35.1%, 18.8%, and 21.6% have ever smoked cigarettes, EC, or hookah. Cigarette smokers were 14.7%, EC users were 2.7%, and hookah smokers were 3.1%. Additionally, 36 (5.1%) of the study group vaped an EC in the preceding 30 days. Dual smoking was 1.8%. The most common symptoms reported by EC users were cough (60.5%) and dyspnea (52.0%). Although EC sales are banned in the country, 49.8% and 25.7% of the EC users provided ECs from tobacco shops and through online sales, respectively. 98.2% and 70.5% of study participants thought ECs and flavors were hazardous. 54.5% of the participants reported second-hand exposure to EC. 21.9% thought that ECs are safer than cigarettes, while 12.2% thinks that it helps quitting smoking. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Medical university students use tobacco most often by smoking cigarettes. Despite medical university students being aware of the health hazards of ECs, the current ECs smoking rate is 2.7%. Although in the country sales of EC is banned, ever-smoking rates for ECs were remarkably high as 18.8% and the ease of proving ENDS was striking.