Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31516420›Full record

ArticleTobacco induced diseases2018

Harm perceptions of waterpipe tobacco smoking among university students in five Eastern Mediterranean Region countries: A cross-sectional study.

Niveen M E Abu-Rmeileh, Ola Alkhuffash, Khalid Kheirallah, Aya Mostafa, Muhammad Darawad, Yahya Al-Farsi, Afzalhussein Yusufali, Justin Thomas, Mohamed Salama, Randah R Hamadeh and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Tobacco induced diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Niveen M E Abu-RmeilehInstitute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University, Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ola AlkhuffashStatistic Department, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Khalid KheirallahDepartment of Public Health, Medical School, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Aya MostafaDepartment of Community Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Muhammad DarawadThe University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
Yahya Al-FarsiSultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
Afzalhussein YusufaliDubai Medical College, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Justin ThomasZayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Mohamed SalamaMansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Randah R HamadehCollege of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
Rima NakkashFaculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Ramzi G SalloumDepartment of Health Outcomes and Policy, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWaterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) continues to be very common in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), partially because of cultural acceptance but also because of misconceptions of its harm. This paper aimed to describe the beliefs towards waterpipe harm of university students who smoked waterpipe in five EMR countries.

methodsThis study was conducted in 2016 across five EMR countries: Egypt, Jordan, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Oman and United Arab Emirates (UAE). Participants were recruited from among university students in each country. Students' characteristics, smoking behavior, flavor preference and knowledge of WTS harm were collected using an internet-based survey. Participants were included if they were ever waterpipe tobacco smokers and between 18 and 29 years of age. Bivariate analyses assessed variations in student-perceived WTS harm across the countries. Linear regression analysis was used to assess WTS perceived harm differences between students in the different countries.

resultsA total of 2 544 university students participated from the five countries. Among ever smoking students, 66% reported WTS in the past 30 days, with the highest proportions (40%) from Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and (41%) Jordan. Dual smoking of waterpipe and cigarettes was highest among students from Egypt. Most participants from the five countries had high level of perceived harm related to WTS during pregnancy. Less than 50% of the students believed that WTS could lead to the death of the smoker, can be harmful for non-smokers and have an addictive effect. Female students, those older than 22 years, and those who didn't smoke waterpipe in the last 30 days significantly had a higher level of WTS perceived harm. Participating students believed that cigarettes are more addictive and contain more nicotine compared to waterpipe.

conclusionsMisperceptions of waterpipe harm are common among university students in the five EMR countries. Immediate public health action is needed, including enforcement of waterpipe tobacco control regulations along with awareness campaigns.

Indexed as

Eastern Mediterraneanharm perceptionuniversity studentswaterpipe

Identifiers

PMID31516420
PMCPMC6659482

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.