Prevalence, Knowledge, and Risk Factors Related to Shisha Smoking Among Students at the Technical Institute of Mosul

Background: Hookah Smoking is very popular among men and women (young men, old men, and women). In spite of this, it is a severe risk to health and represents one of the major causes of worldwide death, and the scientific studies have supported that smoking through hookah as an alternative to smoking tobacco has many dangerous effects on human health.Methods: A sample of 210 participants was selected randomly by choosing the odd number from the Mosul Technical Institute students for the period from 1 October 2020 to 1 January 2021. A questionnaire was used to interview the students who took part in the present study in order to estimate the prevalence of shisha smoking among the participating sample; the respondents were given a brief idea of the study objectives, and their knowledge of shisha smoking and related diseases was verified through a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentage. The study has been approved by the ethics committee of the institute.Results: The result showed that out of 210 students who participated in this study, there were 58 smokers, 22 (34%) of them smoked shisha alone, 15 (23%) smoked cigarettes only, and 28 (43%) smoked hookah and cigarettes. The highest percentage of hookah smokers (71.0%) was in the age group (21-23), compared to 0.5% in the age group (27+). Most students avoided smoking in front of the family (78.6%) while they preferred to smoke a hookah with friends (66.2%). The majority of the participating answered that hookah smoking is more expensive than cigarettes (67.1%), and that is the reason for their preference for cigarettes over hookah, with a mean of 0.48, SD of 0.50, and 51.9%. Regarding the degree of students’ awareness in general about whether smoking shisha is less dangerous to health than smoking cigarettes, the degree of knowledge was weak. It was found that the cognitive level was poor and acceptable among the majority of the sample (67%). Regarding the prevalence of behavioral beliefs associated with hookah smoking, the survey indicated that the prevalence of correct ideas and beliefs prevailing among the sample members reached 53% and that 47% of the sample members had a wrong idea about the prevalence of hookah. Also, the association between the duration of smoking and study specialization was shown to be statistically significant (p=0.75*).Conclusion: Hookah smoking is still a popular health-threatening behavior for college students and young adults. This study indicated that there is a high percentage of hookah smoking among the study sample and that the participants in this study lack sufficient knowledge, lack of awareness, and the beliefs and misconceptions associated with hookah smoking, which requires governmental measures to reduce the harmful spread among students.