{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T10:39:20Z","timestamp":1773916760613,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773878400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cigarette smoking is a common problem among university students globally and it is one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and premature mortality globally. It is associated with several risk factors that predispose some individuals to smoke more than others. Medical students play an important role as future health professionals and execute pivotal role models in tobacco control. There has been also a growing burden of smoking-related diseases in Tanzania, not only at the global level, but also among health professionals. However, there is a lack of data on cigarette smoking among university students in Tanzania. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among undergraduate medical students in Tanzania.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 undergraduate medical students at the University of Dodoma, Tanzania from July to August 2025 using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was performed descriptively, and chi-square test and logistic regression were conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Statistical significance was set at 0.05.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 410 students participated in this study and the smoking prevalence was 2.9% (All smokers being men accounting for 100% of smokers). Those living off-campus were significantly more likely to smoke than those on-campus (OR\u202f=\u202f12.744; 95% CI\u202f=\u202f3.243\u201350.075;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), having friends who smoked (OR\u202f=\u202f2.326; 95% CI\u202f=\u202f0.533\u201310.146;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.261), drinking alcohol (OR\u202f=\u202f1.650; 95% CI\u202f=\u202f0.306\u20138.892;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.560), being in the fourth year (OR\u202f=\u202f1.677; 95% CI\u202f=\u202f0.126\u201322.364;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.696), living in urban area (OR\u202f=\u202f0.351; 95% CI\u202f=\u202f0.066\u20131.859\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.218) and good family relationship (OR\u202f=\u202f15.659; 95% CI\u202f=\u202f0.557\u2013440.193;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.106) were associated with higher odds of smoking though not statistically significant. However, receiving parental advice against cigarette smoking was a significant protective factor (OR\u202f=\u202f0.174;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.029).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cigarette smoking is less prevalent among medical students at the University of Dodoma. However, being in the fourth year of study, living off campus, residing in an urban area, consuming alcohol, living with parents, having good family relationships, and having friends who smoke were identified as predictors of cigarette smoking among university students. There is a need to include plans to reduce smoking among university students that can be incorporated into courses or special university programs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1759389","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]],"date-time":"2026-03-19T05:22:56Z","timestamp":1773897776000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among undergraduate medical students in Tanzania: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Zephania Saitabau","family":"Abraham","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, The University of Dodoma","place":["Dodoma, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jackson John","family":"Cosmas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, The University of Dodoma","place":["Dodoma, Tanzania"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","first-page":"239","article-title":"Cigarette smoking prevalence and awareness amongst undergraduate students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka","volume":"8","author":"Amorha","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Basic Clin Pharm"},{"key":"ref2","article-title":"Cigarette smoking prevalence and associated factors among college students, Amhara, Ethiopia","volume":"40","author":"Telayneh","year":"2021","journal-title":"Pan Afr Med J"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.18332\/popmed\/118250","article-title":"Prevalence and factors associated with cigarette smoking among resident university students: a crosssectional study from Bangladesh","volume":"2","author":"Ahmed","year":"2020","journal-title":"Popul Med"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"668","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-18188-4","article-title":"Frequency of cigarette smoking and its associated factors among men in East Africa: a pooled prevalence analysis of national survey using multinomial regression","volume":"24","author":"Terefe","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref5","article-title":"Tobacco knowledge, attitudes and trends amongst staff and students of University College of Dentistry Lahore, Pakistan","volume":"30","author":"Bhatti","year":"2010","journal-title":"Pak Oral Dent J"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1786","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-19336-6","article-title":"Impact of global smoking prevalence on mortality: a study across income groups","volume":"24","author":"De Silva","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"244","DOI":"10.5195\/cajgh.2017.244","article-title":"Prevalence of tobacco smoking and factors associated with the initiation of smoking among university students in Dhaka, Bangladesh","volume":"6","author":"Hossain","year":"2017","journal-title":"Central Asian J Global Health"},{"key":"ref8","first-page":"1306","article-title":"Epidemiology of smoking among Kuwaiti adults: prevalence, characteristics, and attitudes","volume":"78","author":"Memon","year":"2000","journal-title":"Bull World Health Organ"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1043","DOI":"10.1158\/1055-9965.EPI-07-0067","article-title":"Why smoking prevention programs sometimes fail. 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