Factors associated with having family/whānau or close friends who used alcohol or other drugs in harmful ways among university students in New Zealand

The consequences of alcohol and other drug (AoD) use are well documented. This study investigated factors associated with having family/whānau or close friend who used AoD in harmful ways in New Zealand. Data came from a July–August 2020 cross-sectional survey of students from eight universities (n = 946). Participants were asked if they had family/whānau or close friends in New Zealand who consumed alcohol or used other drugs (cannabis, ecstasy/MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, prescription drugs, inhalants, or other) in a way that negatively impacted them, their family, or close friends in the last 12 months. Logistic regression assessed associations of having family/whānau or close friend who used AoD harmfully with student characteristics. Of respondents, 36.2% (33.1–39.4) had family/whānau or close friend who had consumed alcohol harmfully, and 42.9% (39.5–46.3) had family/whānau or close friend who had used at least one drug harmfully. Respondents’ age and ethnicity were significantly associated with having family/whānau or close friend who used AoD harmfully. The results suggest widespread harmful AoD use and potentially significant second-hand effects of AoD use in New Zealand. These data can be used to supplement information from traditional in-person surveys of individuals using alcohol and other drug (e.g., the New Zealand Health Survey)

Cigarette smoking among university students aged 18-24 years in New Zealand: Results of the first (baseline) of two national surveys

© © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.Objectives: Although the smoking prevalence continues to decline in New Zealand (NZ) overall, little is known about smoking in university students. A 2013 survey of students aged 17-25 years found that 14% were current smokers, and 3% daily smokers. However, the sample did not include students from all NZ universities. This study examines the prevalence and patterns of cigarette smoking among students aged 18-24 years. Setting: University students across NZ. Methods: Data came from a March to May 2018 survey of students from all NZ universities, and were weighted to account for undersampling and oversampling, based on gender and university size. χ 2 tests were used to compare smoking by age, gender and ethnicity. Participants: 1476 participants were included: 919 (62.3%) aged 18-20 years and 557 (37.7%) aged 21-24 years; 569 (38.6%) male and 907 (61.4%) female; and 117 (7.9%) Maori and 1359 (92.1%) non-Maori. Results: 49.8% (95% CI 47.2 to 52.4) of respondents reported ever smoking, 11.1% (95% CI 9.5 to 12.9) currently smoked (smoked at least once a month) and 5.9% (95% CI 4.8 to 7.3) smoked at least daily (daily smokers). Of current smokers, 63.6% smoked 1-5 cigarettes/day, 45.8% smoked daily, 73.4% smoked first cigarette >60 min after waking, 86.0% never/almost never smoked in indoor and 64.6% in outdoor smokefree spaces, 69.9% planned to quit and 32.4% had tried to quit. Ever, current and daily smoking were significantly higher in 21-24 compared with 18-20 years olds, and in males compared with females. Older participants were more likely to report smoking more cigarettes/day. Maori were more likely to report ever smoking than non-Maori. Conclusions: Current smoking among NZ university students aged 18-24 years appears to be declining but daily smoking could be increasing. However, many students appeared less addicted to nicotine, and willing to quit. We recommend increasing the availability of smokefree services for students who wish to quit

Attitudes towards the New Zealand Government's Smokefree 2025 goal associated with smoking and vaping in university students aged 18 to 24 years: Results of a 2018 national cross-sectional survey

Objective: In March 2011, New Zealand (NZ) launched an aspirational goal to reduce smoking prevalence to 5% or less by 2025 (Smokefree 2025 goal). Little is known about university students' awareness of, support for and perceptions about this goal. We sought to narrow the knowledge gap. Setting: University students in NZ. Methods: We analysed data from a 2018 cross-sectional survey of university students across NZ. Logistic regression analysis examined the associations between responses about the Smokefree goal with smoking and vaping, while controlling for age, sex and ethnicity. Confidence intervals (95% CI) were reported where appropriate. Participants: The sample comprised 1476 students: 919 (62.3%) aged 18 to 20 and 557 (37.7%) aged 21 to 24 years; 569 (38.6%) male and 907 (61.4%) female; 117 (7.9%) Maori and 1359 (92.1%) non-Maori. Of these, 10.5% currently smoked (ie, smoked at least monthly) and 6.1% currently vaped (ie, used an e-cigarette or vaped at least once a month). Results: Overall awareness of the Smokefree goal was 47.5% (95% CI: 44.9 to 50.1); support 96.9% (95% CI: 95.8 to 97.8); belief that it can be achieved 88.8% (95% CI: 86.8 to 90.7) and belief that e-cigarettes/vaping can help achieve it 88.1% (95% CI: 86.0 to 89.9). Dual users of tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes had greater odds of being aware of the Smokefree goal (OR=3.07, 95% CI: 1.19 to 7.92), current smokers had lower odds of supporting it (OR=0.13, 95% CI: 0.06 to 0.27) and of believing that it can be achieved (OR=0.15, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.24) and current vapers had greater odds of believing that e-cigarettes/vaping can help to achieve it (OR=8.57, 95% CI: 1.18 to 62.52) compared with non-users. Conclusions: The results suggest strong overall support for the Smokefree goal and belief that it can be achieved and that e-cigarettes/vaping can help achieve it. Smoking and vaping were associated with high awareness of the Smokefree goal, but lower support and optimism that it can be achieved

Electronic cigarette use among university students aged 18-24 years in New Zealand: Results of a 2018 national cross-sectional survey

Objectives: To examine electronic cigarette use, reasons for use and perceptions of harm among university students. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: University students across New Zealand. Methods: We analysed data from a 2018 cross-sectional survey of university students, weighted to account for undersampling and oversampling by gender and university size. χ 2 tests were used to compare e-cigarette use, reasons for use and perceptions of harm by age, gender, ethnicity and cigarette smoking. Participants: The sample comprised 1476 students: 62.3% aged 18-20 years, 37.7% aged 21-24 years; 38.6% male, 61.4% female; 7.9% Maori and 92.1% non-Maori. Results: 40.5% of respondents (95% CI 37.9 to 43.1) reported ever, 6.1% (4.9-7.4) current and 1.7% (1.1-2.5) daily use. Regardless of frequency, 11.5% of vapers had vaped daily for ≥1 month, 70.2% of whom used nicotine-containing devices; 80.8% reported not vaping in indoor and 73.8% in outdoor smoke-free spaces. Among ever vapers, curiosity (67.4%), enjoyment (14.4%) and quitting (2.4%) were common reasons for vaping. 76.1% (73.4-78.7) of respondents believed e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes. More males than females reported vaping (ever, current, daily and daily for ≥1 month), nicotine use and belief that e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes. More participants aged 18-20 years reported not vaping in outdoor smoke-free spaces, vaping out of curiosity and belief that e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, while more participants aged 21-24 years vaped daily for ≥1 month and for enjoyment. More Maori than non-Maori ever vaped. More cigarette smokers than non-smokers vaped (ever, current, daily and daily for ≥1 month), used nicotine and vaped to quit, while more non-smokers did not vape in smoke-free spaces and vaped out of curiosity. Conclusions: Our results suggest high prevalence of e-cigarette ever and current use, particularly among males and smokers. Many vaped out of curiosity and perceived e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes

Cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use among university students in Queensland, Australia and New Zealand: results of two cross-sectional surveys

Objectives Examine the patterns of cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use (vaping), the perceived harm of e-cigarettes compared with tobacco cigarettes, and associations between smoking and vaping with student characteristics. Design Cross-sectional studies. Setting The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia and eight New Zealand (NZ) universities. Participants Students at UQ: 4957 (70.8% aged <25 years, 63.0% women) and NZ: 1854 (82.5% aged <25 years, 60.1% women). Methods Χ2 tests compared smoking by age and gender, and vaping by age, gender and smoking status. Two-sided p<0.05 was considered significant and 95% CIs reported where appropriate. Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between smoking and vaping (exclusive smoking, exclusive vaping, dual use and non-use) with age, gender and student type (domestic vs international). Results Smoking (UQ vs NZ, 95%CI): ever 45.2% (43.8% to 46.6%) vs 50.0% (47.7% to 52.3%), current 8.9% (8.1% to 9.7%) vs 10.4% (9.1% to 11.9%) and daily 5.2% (4.6% to 5.8%) vs 5.6% (4.6% to 6.7%), and not smoking in indoor 98.3% vs 87.7% or outdoor smoke-free spaces 83.8% vs 65.3%. Vaping (UQ vs NZ, 95%CI): ever 20.9% (19.8% to 22.1%) vs 37.6% (35.4% to 39.9%), current 1.8% (1.5% to 2.2%) vs 6.5% (5.4% to 7.7%) and daily 0.7% (0.5% to 1.0%) vs 2.5% (1.9% to 3.4%), and not vaping in indoor 91.4% vs 79.6% or outdoor smoke-free spaces 84.4% vs 71.3%. Of respondents, 71.7% (70.3% to 73.2%) vs 75.3% (72.9% to 77.6%) perceived e-cigarettes as less harmful than tobacco cigarettes. Men were more likely than women to smoke and vape, and to believe that e-cigarettes are less harmful. Regression models containing all predictors for smoking and vaping were significant and the effect of gender was significant for dual use, exclusive smoking and exclusive vaping (all p<0.01). Men had higher odds for smoking, vaping or dual use. Conclusions Results suggest significant differences in patterns of smoking and vaping of university students in Australia and NZ, and a strong influence of gender on smoking and vaping

Effectiveness of a web platform on university students’ motivation to quit smoking

Objetivo: conhecer a dependência da nicotina e a motivação para parar de fumar em estudantes de Enfermagem e Fisioterapia de uma universidade no sul da Espanha e avaliar o impacto de uma intervenção baseada no uso de tecnologias da informação na motivação para parar de fumar. Método: estudo piloto em duas fases: a primeira transversal e a segunda de intervenção antes-depois. A motivação para parar de fumar foi avaliada usando o questionário Richmond, a dependência da nicotina através do questionário de Fagerström e uma intervenção baseada no uso de uma plataforma online foi realizada para aumentar a motivação para parar de fumar. Estatística descritiva e inferencial foram aplicadas. Resultados: a prevalência de consumo de tabaco foi de 4,33% (n=29). 3,45% dos participantes tinham alta dependência e 6,90%, alta motivação. O nível de motivação não foi alterado após a intervenção (p=0,10). Conclusão: a maioria dos estudantes tem baixo nível de motivação para parar de fumar e dependência física à nicotina. O nível de motivação para parar de fumar não é diferente após a realização da intervenção.Objetivo: conocer la dependencia a la nicotina y la motivación para el cese tabáquico en estudiantes de Enfermería y Fisioterapia de una universidad del sur de España y evaluar el efecto de una intervención basada en el uso de tecnologías de la información en la motivación para el cese tabáquico. Método: estudio piloto de dos fases: la primera transversal y la segunda de intervención antes-después. Se valoró la motivación para dejar de fumar mediante el cuestionario Richmond, la dependencia a la nicotina a través del cuestionario Fagerström, y se llevó a cabo una intervención basada en el uso de una plataforma web para incrementar la motivación del cese tabáquico. Se aplicó estadística descriptiva e inferencial. Resultados: la prevalencia de consumo de tabaco fue del 4.33% (n=29). El 3.45% de los participantes presentó alta dependencia, y el 6.90%, alta motivación. El nivel de motivación no se vio alterado tras la intervención (p=0.10). Conclusión: la mayor parte de los estudiantes tiene un nivel bajo de motivación para dejar de fumar y de dependencia física a la nicotina. El nivel de motivación para el cese tabáquico no es diferente tras realizar la intervención.Objective: to know the dependence on nicotine and the motivation to quit smoking in Nursing and Physiotherapy students of a university in the South of Spain, and to evaluate the impact of an intervention based on the use of information technologies on the motivation to quit smoking. Method: a pilot study in two phases: the first being cross-sectional and the second, a before-and-after intervention. The motivation to quit smoking was assessed by means of the Richmond questionnaire, and the dependence on nicotine through the Fagerström questionnaire; additionally, an intervention was performed based on the use of a web platform to increase motivation to quit smoking. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. Results: the prevalence in the use of tobacco was 4.33% (n=29). 3.45% of the participants had a high level of dependence; and 6.90%, a high level of motivation. The level of motivation did not change after the intervention (p=0.10). Conclusion: most of the students have low levels of motivation to quit smoking and of physical dependence to nicotine. The level of motivation to quit smoking does not change after performing the intervention