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Original Article

IJMDC. 2020; 4(2): 309-312


Smoking, reasons for initiation and barriers of cessation: a cross-sectional study among the population of Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia

Amar Fathi Mohamed Khalifa, Omar Abdullah Alahmari, Mamdouh Alharbi, Abdullah Alruwili, Shalhoub Alqahtani, Omar Alanazi, Fadi Alhalabi, Eqab Alotibi, Abdulmanea Alwayili, Abdullah Aloggael, Abdulellah Almoutairi, Hamad Abdulraazzaq.




Abstract

Background: Around six million people die annually worldwide by tobacco smoking-related diseases, on average smokers die 10 years earlier than non-smokers. The current study was conducted to identify reasons for smoking initiation and barriers of tobacco cessation among Riyadh population.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample size of 389 smokers who were students in Medical Colleges in Riyadh city. The data collection method was interviewer-administered. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20, Microsoft Excel was used to generate figures and charts, and a p value of less than 0.5 was considered as significant. Consent was obtained before the data collection.
Results: The majority of our respondents were in the age of 22-25 (51.9%) and lived in Riyadh city. Among the total, 43.2% of respondents had an age of initiation from 19 to 22, and the main cause of initiation was stress in 35.2% of respondents. The majority of our respondents smoked the first cigarette with a friend (50.6%). Almost half of the respondents (45%) said that the price of cigarettes was not a reason for cessation. The majority of
respondents said that stress was the reason they returned to smoking after cessation (66.82%), who stopped smoking did not visit antismoking clinics.
Conclusion: The majority of our participants started smoking at young ages under 22 years old, the commonest reason for initiation was stress followed by free time. Around half of our participants attempted to quit smoking and cessation main barriers were smoker friends and withdrawal symptoms. There was no relation between antismoking clinics visit and tobacco cessation.

Key words: Smoking, prevalence, knowledge, Saudi Arabia






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