Factors Related to Electronic Cigarette Smoking Behaviors among Students at a Private University, Samut Prakan Province

Abstract

“Electronic cigarettes: e-cigarette” are a new type of product that has become increasingly popular, particularly among university students. However, they have numerous negative effects. This research was a cross-sectional survey study aimed to study e-cigarette smoking behavior and the relationship between personal factors, perception of e-cigarette hazards, attitude toward e-cigarette hazards, environmental factors conducive to e-cigarette use, and e-cigarette smoking behavior among university students. The sample consisted of 381 undergraduate students at a private university in Samut Prakan Province, with a selection using accidental sampling. The research instrument used in this study was a self-developed questionnaire, created based on a review of relevant literature, research studies, and theoretical frameworks. The questionnaire consists of four sections: personal information, perception of e-cigarette hazards, attitude toward e-cigarette hazards, and environmental factors conducive to e-cigarette use. It was reviewed by three expert nursing faculty members. The content validity index (CVI) of the entire instrument was calculated to be 0.96. The reliability coefficients for sections 2 to 4 of the questionnaire were 0.78, 0.76, and 0.74, respectively. Data were analyzed using the SPSS program, and statistics used included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Chi-square test, and Fisher’s exact test at a statistical significance level of 0.05. The findings revealed that most of the samples (81.90%) reported no e-cigarette smoking behavior. They had the perception of e-cigarette hazards were at a high level (86.09%) and had an attitude toward e-cigarette hazards were at a high level (85.04%). The factors that were significantly related to e-cigarette smoking behavior were gender, education level, religion, monthly income, perception of e-cigarette hazards, and attitude towards e-cigarette hazards at a statistical significance level of 0.05. The results of this study can be used to develop a project to reduce, stop, and quit e-cigarette smoking and various policies to solve the problem of e-cigarette smoking in universities.