The role of sociodemographic factors associated with waterpipe smoking among male adolescents in western Iran: A cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: Waterpipe smoking (WPS) is an increasingly popular leisure activity among young people in Iran. The purpose of this study was to identify the role of sociodemographic factors associated with WPS among male adolescents in Iran. METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional design. It included 730 high school male students (Grades 10–12) recruited through multistage random sampling conducted in 2017 in Hamadan city, western Iran. The self-administered questionnaires included information on demographic variables and behavioral risk factors related to WPS. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression modeling were conducted using SPSS. RESULTS: The student mean age, and standard deviation (SD), and age at WPS initiation were 16.41 (0.84) and 13.31 (2.43) years, respectively. The percentages of never, former and current WPS were 37.3%, 36.4% and 26.3%, respectively. We found that ever cigarette smoking (OR=5.14, 95% CI: 2.56–10.32) and WPS family (OR=2.55, 95% CI: 1.40–4.64) were significantly associated with former WPS. Furthermore, being 18 years, studying in technical fields, reporting ever and current smoking of cigarettes and family usage of WP were significantly associated with current WPS. Friends with WPS (OR= 0.50, 95% CI: 0.34–0.72) however played a protective role on former WPS. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that the prevalence of former and current WPS was high in Hamadan city. Thus, designing and implementing interventions for increasing students’, friends’ and family’s awareness regarding the harms of WPS and cigarette smoking are necessary to facilitate behavior change.