Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on Electronic Cigarette and their Associated Factors among Undergraduate Students in a Public University

INTRODUCTION: Smoking tobacco has been a longstanding issue worldwide, but the trend of smoking electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) is now on the rise. Many people assume that smoking e-cigarette is safer and less harmful than conventional cigarette smoking, which is worrying. Adolescents and young adults are easily influenced by advertisements on e-cigarette. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice on e-cigarette among university students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire was carried out among 484 university students in a public university in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. RESULTS: Respondents were between 19- 25 year-old undergraduates, with the majority being female. 6.6% of the respondents were smokers, with nine having tried e-cigarette, where only one is a regular user. Bivariate analysis was carried out to analyse knowledge, attitude and practice scores on e-cigarette. There was significant association between gender with attitude and practice scores (p <<0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed that being female and non-smoker were associated with higher attitude and practice scores on e-cigarette. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the knowledge, attitude and practice on e-cigarette needs to be improved among young adults and a more holistic intervention strategy should be implemented to prevent the rise of e-cigarette smoking.