Smoking Habits among Greek University Students after the Financial Crisis

BACKGROUND: University students worldwide seem to have increased rates of smoking, alcohol abuse, binge drinking episodes and harmful consumption trends, raising a serious public health issue. The aim of the present study was to investigate university students’ smoking habits and exposure to secondary smoke amid a financial crisis. METHODS: The present descriptive, correlational analysis was conducted at the University of Peloponnese. RESULTS: The average age of the sample (n=203) was 24.9 years (±7.6 years) with 36.0% of the participants (n=73) being postgraduate students. Some 51.2% (n=104) of the participants said they didn’t smoke and 46.3% (n=94, p=0.003) reported no secondary smoke exposure during the past week at home. The majority of the remainder initiated smoking at age 16-17 (48.5%, n=48), and 64.6% (n=42) said the financial crisis did not lead them to change their smoking habits. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of students support smoking ban laws in enclosed public spaces, but also their replies highlighted poor implementation on behalf of the state and the authorities. The financial crisis did not appear to have affected student smoking habits.