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Abstract #153142

Xiaoming Li¹, Rong Mao, PhD², Yan Hong³, and Bonita Stanton¹. (1) Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University, 4201 Saint Antoine ST, UHC 6D, Detroit, MI 48201, 313-7451235, xiaoli@med.wayne.edu, (2) Institute of Mental Health, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, China, (3) School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 624 N. Broadway, Room 750, Baltimore, MD 21205

Objectives: To examine the smoking practice and intention among Chinese college students and to explore the association between cigarette smoking and individual and psychosocial factors. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 1,874 students from 19 college campus in Jiangsu Province, China. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the associations of smoking practice and intention with various individual and psychosocial factors. Results: Overall, 53% of the participants reported ever having smoked in their lifetime and 29% of the sample reported having smoked in the past 30 days. About one-fourth of the sample thought they were likely to smoke in next 6 months. The data suggest a strong association of cigarette smoking with peer smoking, positive personal attitudes towards smoking, and engagement in other health risk behaviors, with these associations persisting even after controlling for other potential confounders. Conclusion: The data suggest a substantial smoking experimentation among college students in China, which presents both a challenge and an opportunity to prevent a large proportion of experimenters from progressing to regular smokers. Several findings in the current study can be used to inform the development of effective smoking intervention prevention programs among college students in China.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Assess the tobacco use prevalence and intention among Chinese college students
• 2.Explore the association between tobacco use and a number of individual and psychosocial factors
• 3.Articulate the prevention intervention implications of the findings

Keywords: Smoking, College Students

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.