Objective: The aim of this study was to observe the prevalence rate of cigarette smoking among intermediate students in different school types in Saudi Arabia. The effectiveness of an awareness program towards smoking cessation that was administered in this study was also evaluated.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 13-15-year-old male intermediate school students (n=435) in Saudi Arabia in three different school types (government, private, international). The Global Youth Tobacco Survey core questionnaire were given to assess the students' tobacco-use along with their demographic information. A clinical examination was performed by calibrated examiners for plaque, gingivitis, caries, and mucosal lesions. An awareness program on smoking cessation was conducted to these students.
Results: It was observed that 30.1% of the students had tried cigarette smoking, of which about 4.3% smoked more than 20 cigarettes/day. The majority of the students (87%) had an intent towards smoking cessation, and about 80% of them did not feel compelled because of peer pressure. Also, about 74.3% of the students were not aware of any means to quit smoking and 57.9% of the students had watched media content on tobacco-use.
Conclusion: The study concluded that tobacco-use was prevalent among male intermediate school students with a majority of them intending to or have tried to quit the habit. Peer pressure may not have resulted in development of the habit but about half of the population has viewed media content with tobacco-use. Awareness programs on implications of smoking and cessation is warranted at school-level.