Data of total 500 undergraduate students was analyzed, among them 269 (53.8%) were males and 231 (46.2%) were females. The mean age of study participants was 21.50 years (SD: 1.72). Table 1 shows the socio demographics of participants by gender.
Table 1 Socio-demographic Characteristics of students
Characteristics
|
Gender
|
Male, n (%)
|
Female, n (%)
|
Total, n (%)
|
Residential settings Urban
Rural
|
157 (58.4)
112 (41.6)
|
181 (78.4)
50 (21.6)
|
338 (67.6)
162 (32.4)
|
Region
Sindh
Punjab
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Balochistan Islamabad
Gilgit Baltistan
Azad Kashmir
|
24 (8.9)
121 (45.0)
77 (28.6)
20 (7.4)
6 (2.2)
14 (5.2)
7 (2.5)
|
11 (4.8)
140 (60.6)
33(14.3)
2 (0.9)
19 (8.2)
6 (2.6)
20 (8.7)
|
35 (7.0)
261 (52.2)
110 (22.0)
22 (4.4)
25 (5.0)
20 (4.0)
27 (5.4)
|
Family Income Status
Low income family
Middle income family
High income family
|
18 (6.7)
226 (84.0)
25 (9.3)
|
5 (2.2)
210 (90.9)
16 (6.9)
|
23 (4.6)
436 (87.2)
41 (8.2)
|
Father’s Education
Illiterate
Primary
Matric
Graduate
Post graduate or higher
|
18 (6.7)
20 (7.4)
73 (27.1)
104 (38.7)
54 (20.1)
|
6 (2.6)
11 (4.8)
48 (20.8)
93 (40.3)
73 (31.6)
|
24 (4.8)
31 (6.2)
121 (24.2)
197 (39.4)
127 (25.4)
|
Mother’s Education
Illiterate
Primary
Matric
Graduate
Post graduate or higher
|
85 (31.6)
56 (20.8)
55 (20.4)
60 (22.3)
13 (4.8)
|
24 (10.4)
30 (13.0)
59 (25.5)
83 (35.9)
35 (15.2)
|
109 (21.8)
86 (17.2)
114 (22.8)
143 (28.6)
48 (9.6)
|
With regard to the background residence 67.7% of students were from urban areas, and 32.4% were from rural areas of the country (Table 1). Similarly about 66.6% were day scholars and 33.4% were boarder scholars. Students from low income families were 4.6% while females from this economic class were just 5 (2.2%) of all female study participants. Islamabad, Punjab and Azad Kashmir were exception among regions from where female students’ strength was higher to that of male students. Parents’ education revealed that 4.8% of fathers and 21.8% of mothers were reported illiterate, with only 9.6% mothers and 25.4% fathers were post-graduates or highly educated, higher education of parents especially of mothers increases chances of girls’ higher education.
Table 2 displays prevalence of smoking by gender. Smoking was reported by 22.4% students, there was significant difference between both males and females smoking patterns, a larger number of males 34.6% reported smoking than those of 8.2% females, the prevalence of smoking was high 23.5% in rural students while 21.9% in urban students. Smoking prevalence in was 36.6%, 26.1% and 20.9% in students belonged to high, lower and middle income families respectively.
Table 2 Smoking prevalence
Variable
|
Smoking
|
Yes n (%)
|
No n (%)
|
Students
|
112 (22.4)
|
388 (77.6)
|
Gender
Male
Female
|
93 (34.6)
19 (8.2)
|
176 (65.4)
212 (91.8)
|
Residential settings
|
Urban
Rural
|
74 (21.9)
38 (23.5)
|
264 (78.1)
124 (76.5)
|
Family income status
|
Low income
Middle income
High income
|
6 (26.1)
91 (20.9)
15 (36.6)
|
17 (73.9)
345(79.1)
26 (63.4)
|
Region
|
Sindh
Punjab
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Balochistan
Gilgit Baltistan
Azad Kashmir
Islamabad
|
11 (31.4)
47 (18.0)
30 (27.3)
9 (40.9)
7 (35.0)
4 (14.8)
4 (16.0)
|
24 (68.6)
214 (82.0)
80 (72.7)
13 (51.1)
13 (65.0)
23 (85.2)
21 (84.0)
|
Student type
|
Day Scholar
Boarder Scholar
|
60 (18.0)
52 (31.1)
|
273 (82)
115 (68.9)
|
Reasons of Smoking initiation/ Determinants
|
Variables
|
n (%)
|
Peers
Easy Availability
Fun & Enjoyment
Movies
Failure in Love
Advertisement
Curiosity
Parents
|
28 (25.2)
23 (20.7)
15 (13.5)
13 (11.7)
11 (9.9)
8 (7.2)
8 (7.2)
5 (4.5)
|
Cigarettes Consumed per Day
|
Variables
|
n (%)
|
1 cigarette
2-5 cigarettes
6-10 cigarettes
11-20 cigarettes
More than 20 cigarettes
|
30 (26.8)
36 (32.1)
22 (19.6)
18 (16.1)
6 (5.4)
|
Smokers among boarder scholars were 31.1% while 18% in day scholars. Smoking prevalence among students from different regions was 40.9% high among Balochistan, 35% in Gilgit Baltistan, 31.4% in Sindh, 27.3% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18% in Punjab, 16% in Islamabad, and 14.85 in Azad Kashmir.
Smoking and Academic Performance
Association between academic performance and different variables first assessed with chi-square test and then logistic regression applied.
Significantly associated variables to academic performance were smoking, table 3 shows increased odds ratio of high academic performance in non-smoker students (OR= 2.57, 95% CI: 1.77, 3.74), analysis showed increased odds of high academic performance in females (OR= 2.17, 95% CI: 1.56, 3.03), students having an intimate smoker friend also had increased odds of lower academic performance (OR= 2.00, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.79) and student whose parents were smokers also had higher odds of lower academic performance (OR= 1.61, 95% CI: 1.11, 2.31).
Table 3: Association of academic performance with selected variables
Variable
|
P-value
|
OR 95% CI
|
|
|
Smoking
Gender
Friends’ Smoke
Parents’ Smoke
Residence
Type of Student
Life Event
|
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.011
0.405
0.355
0.468
|
2.57 (1.77,3.74)
2.17 (1.56,3.03)
2.00 (1.14,2.79)
1.61 (1.11,2.31)
0.86 (0.62,1.20)
0.87 (0.61,1.18)
1.12 (0.82,1.53)
|
|
Academic performance was not significantly associated with residence (urban, rural), type of student (boarder, day scholars) and having any life event (illness, accident, close relative death) during examinations days or two weeks ago.
Reasons of Smoking
Table 2 shows the reasons behind smoking initiation among students were; 28 (25.2%) started smoking because of peers, 13 (11.7%) stated that it were movies which gave them idea of cigarette smoking, 5 (4.5%) started smoking looking at their parents while smoking, 8 (7.2%) stated advertisement was the reason they started smoking, 23 (20.7%) said they started smoking due to easy availability,15 (13.50%) stated fun and enjoyment the reason they started smoking, 8 (7.2%)stated curiosity the reason of their smoking and 11 (9.90%) stated failure in love the reason of smoking initiation.
Frequency of cigarettes smoked
Table 2 shows the pattern of cigarettes smoked by students, 30 (26.8%) reported 1 cigarette a day, 36 (32.1%) reported 2-5 cigarettes, those who consumed 4-6 cigarettes per day were 22 (19.6%), while 11-20 cigarettes consumers were 18 (16.1%) and 6 (5.4%) reported 20 or more cigarettes consumption per day.
Age of smoking initiation
Figure 1 shows that among smokers 5 (4.5%) started smoking when they were around 8 years or younger, 6 (5.4%) participants started smoking when they were 9-10 years old, 7 (6.3%) respondents started smoking when they were 11-12 years old, 12 (10.7%) started smoking at age 13-14 years, 22 (19.6%) started smoking when they were 15-16 years old and 60 (53.6%) were those who started smoking at age of 17 or older.