Cigarette smoking among medical college students in Wuhan, People's Republic of China

Background. This study examined cigarette smoking among a sample le of medi cal college students in Wuhan, People's Republic of China. Specific cultura l factors associated with cigarette smoking in China were discussed and iss ues which need to be studied in the future are presented. Methods A self-administrated questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1,611 medical students in 1995, Smoking status was based on self-reported u se of cigarettes within the preceding 180 days. information about demograph ic characteristics, home residence, annual family income, and smoking statu s of family members was also obtained. Results. A total of 1,540 (1,201 males and 339 females) completed and retur ned the questionnaires (response rate 95.6%). None of the 339 female studen ts surveyed reported cigarette smoking. A total of 37.7% (95% confidence in terval (CI) = 35.0-40.5%) of the male medical students were current smokers , and 5.3% (95% CI = 4.0-6.6%) were former smokers. The mean age of beginni ng to smoke was 16.5 years (95% CI = 8.7-24.3 years). The major reasons for first smoking were stress (42.8%, 95% CI = 38.2-47.4%), curiosity (34.4%, 95% CI = 29.6-38.4%), and loneliness (33.7%, 95%, CI = 28.7-37.4%). Multiva riate analyses suggested that age, college year, and having a family member who smoked were significantly associated with cigarette smoking. Conclusions. The results indicated a need to provide comprehensive tobacco use prevention programs among medical students. (C) 1990 American Health Fo undation and Academic Press.