Dataset on perception among male secondary school students on underage smoking in Jordan

The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed in 2015 that the percentage of smokers in Jordan is one of the highest in the world, reaching 70.2% among males and consequently ranking first in the Middle Eastern region and second in the world. Cigarettes are the most widely abused substance among school students in Jordan. This poses severe health risks to the public. The WHO emphasizes that one of the most important public health goals related to smoking is to reduce its harmful effects on the individual as well as society and the prevention and treatment of injuries. This article explores the nature of smoking among school students, binge smoking, and the consequences of smoking. Secondary school students undergo developmental transitions, and this comes with debilitating effects such as the risky use of cigarettes, which adversely affects their health and educational achievements. This article comprises data obtained from 1166 participants (ages 14–17 years) from selected schools in Jerash, near Amman, Jordan. For data collection, a youth questionnaire on underage smoking was utilized. The article presents information on the participants’ smoking demographic. Analyses of the data can provide insights into the reasons for the smoking habits of the youth, the negative effects of smoking on school students, strategies to reduce smoking consumption, level of consumption of daily smokers, health issues caused by smoking, the prevalence of smoking, the effect of smoker parents on stimulating their children, and common smoking areas. The data will be useful for institutions dealing with prevalent health problems in society (Smoking causes health problems that affect students' learning) as well as benefit future researchers.