Tobacco smoking habits and nicotine dependence among the college students of University of Delhi, India

BACKGROUND: According to the report on tobacco control in India, tobacco use causes eight to nine lakh deaths annually in India. Tobacco use is on the rise among youngsters especially the college students. The Government of India has made a mandatory display of pictorial health warnings for both smoking and smokeless forms of tobacco products under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Product Act, 2003. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of tobacco smoking and to assess nicotine dependence among the college students of the University of Delhi. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 college students of Delhi University from October to December 2019. A semi-structured self-administered questionnaire method was used to collect data on smoking; pictorial warnings and Fragerstrom criteria were used to assess nicotine dependence. RESULT: Out of the 400 study participants 92 (23%) participants were ever smokers. Among 62 current smokers, the mean age (±SD) of initiation of smoking was 17.3 years (±2.07), median (interquartile range [IQR]) number of cigarettes smoked per day was 3 (2–6), a majority (80.7%) used to smoke after 30 min of waking up in the morning, majority (59.7%) had low nicotine dependence. About half of the past smokers 47% (14 out of 30) and the current smokers 58% (36 out of 62) told that they had no effect of pictorial warning for quitting or decreasing smoking. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed the tobacco smoking pattern among college students of Delhi. The majority of smokers and non-smokers perceived that pictorial warning is ineffective in driving to quit smoking.