What is the rate of tobacco usage among dental school students?

Introduction This survey aimed to investigate the rate of students in dental schools that use various tobacco products and possible factors affecting their attitudes towards tobacco products. Methods The survey was conducted between May 1 and June 30, 2018 and participants were from ten dental schools in Turkey. First year students and fifth year students were compared in terms of tobacco product usage and their attitudes towards tobacco. Data were tested statistically using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 15.0 program and chi-square test. Results A total of 1228 students from eleven different dental schools completed the online survey. Majority of the participants were females (62.1 %) and males were less (37.9 %). Mean age of the participants was 21.8±2.9 years (min-max; 18-54 years). The overall rate of current smokers was 38.11%, but 56.6% of the participants have inhaled tobacco smoke. More than half (55.3%) of the current smokers stated that they wish to quit and 36.7% of these students have attempted to quit within the last six months. More than 10% of all participants defined themselves as highly addicted to cigarette smoking. The rate of waterpipe smokers were 41.2% and 83.7% of these students were not willing to stop waterpipe smoking. Conclusions The rate of current tobacco smokers is rather high among dental school students and this finding points out the need for more effective precautions against tobacco. Funding This study has been funded solely by the institutions of the authors