Smoking Knowledge and its associated factors among Al-Mustaqbel University students in Al Hilla City

Background: Smoking is the leading preventable cause of morbidity in the world. Objective of the study: 1. Asses the sociodemographic characteristics for the students who were smoker in regard to their age. 2. Find out their knowledge about the harmful effects of smoking. 3. Determine the factors leading to smoking. Method: A descriptive analytic study design was adopted at the university of Al-Mustaqbel. A convenience sample of 300 students chose purposively from different level of their study. A questionnaire was developed by the researchers. Results : The majority of the students were male (94%) smokers, their age of started smoking more than 18 years, with sufficient income, about half of them their families and friends know that they were smoker, most of them know that the disorder caused by smoking, and the majority of them 76.33% think that the causes of smoking was family problem, stress and anxiety. in addition to the life burden, friends and influence by others had high mean. Conclusion: Majority of the study sample age between 18-23 years old, male, unmarried and lived in urban area. High percentage of them thinks that smoking causes cancer of the lung, and respiratory diseases. The majority of the sample believed that the cause of smoking was family problem, stress and anxiety, and life burden. Recommendations : The use of various media may help in stopping smoking and helping the students to stop smoking through encourage their family by instructing the students to avoid any assembly that include smoking.