Vaping and Associated Health Problems in University Students of Lahore

Abstract

Objective: This study was carried out to assess health issues associated with Vaping among medical and non-
medical students of Lahore.
Method: An analytical cross sectional study was conducted from March 2020 to July 2020 among students
of multiple medical and non-medical colleges and universities. A sample of 160 students who were involved
in vaping was collected through snow ball sampling technique. After IRB approval, pre-tested structured
questionnaire was disseminated via Google forms. Students who were using E cigarettes and were willing to
participate, were included in this study. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22. Chi-square test was
applied and p-value at <0.05 was considered significant to find out an association between knowledge and
side effects reported in medical and non-medical students.
Results: This study included 160 students who were already involved in vaping, out of which 111(69.38%)
were male and 49(30.63%) were female. Health effects associated include cough 38(27%), shortness of
breath 24(15%), palpitations 18(11.25%) and loss of appetite 16(10%).When asked about different reasons
behind starting e-cigarettes it was concluded as better alternative than smoking 70 (43.75%) followed by
social up-gradation by 48 (30%) of the participants. Significant association was found among respondents
using e-cigarettes and awareness regarding presence of nicotine (p=0.02), harmful chemicals (p=0.05) and
adverse effects associated with it (p=0.002)
Conclusion: The study concluded that Vaping is more common in the students from other discipline rather
than Medical students due to lack of information about its health hazards. Friends were the commonest source
of information. Most of the non-medical students were unaware of harmful chemical ingredients present in e-
cigarettes and the most common adverse effect reported was productive cough.

How to cite: Manzoor I, Joya AM, Mushtaq I, Noor A, Abbas A, Zawar F. Vaping and Associated Health Problems in University
Students of Lahore. Esculapio - JSIMS 2022;18(02):163-168
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51273/esc22.2518212