부산대학교 도서관

Introduction: The popularity of waterpipe smoking is dramatically increasing in Lebanon, reaching 36.9%, the highest among countries in the region, with a false belief that waterpipe is less dangerous and toxic compared to cigarettes. Aim: To assess factors associated with the quit attempts and the past length of abstinence in a Lebanese sample of waterpipe smokers. Materials and Methods: A cross- sectional study was conducted between March 2014 and March 2015 involving 127 patients in five outpatient clinics located in five hospitals in Lebanon (Beirut, Mount Lebanon and North Lebanon). A questionnaire was completed for each participant; quit attempts, real quit attempt durations and the intention to seriously quit waterpipe smoking in two months were assessed. Two forward logistic regressions were performed, taking into account the variables in the bivariate analysis that showed a p-value < 0.2. Results: Past attempt to quit waterpipe smoking was significantly higher among smokers who had cough and expectoration for more than three weeks (Odds Ratio ORa=8.2), at higher stages of readiness to quit (ORa=2.78) and being highly motivated (ORa=2.27). A longer duration of abstinence to smoke waterpipe was higher among waterpipe smokers less than 45 years (ORa=6.85), who considered very important to report health warning on tumbac (tobacco) packages (ORa=3.09) and with a low waterpipe dependence (ORa=2.13). Conclusion: Health care professionals should play an important role in explaining the side effects of waterpipe smoking in order to decrease dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]