Do university students support a ban on smoking in university buildings? A comparison of seven european countries

Background: Tobacco use is a major health risk behavior among young adults, including university students. Because smoking bans are effective in reducing cigarette consumption, we compare smoking behaviors in university students from seven European countries and their attitudes towards a ban on smoking at the university. Methods: The sample consists of 5,342 students from 7 universities in Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and Turkey. Students were asked about their smoking frequency in the last three months. All students were asked about their attitudes towards a ban on smoking in university buildings, using a four-point Likert scale ranging from “fully agree” to “disagree” with a ban. Results: Daily smoking ranged from 34% in Spain to 10% in Poland. In Denmark and Germany, there were little differences in daily smoking by gender. In the remaining countries, daily smoking was more common among males, with the exception of Bulgaria and Spain. In Bulgaria, 16% of male students compared to 27% of female students reported smoking daily. Likewise in Spain, 25% of male students compared to 39% of female students reported daily smoking. Although females reported more daily smoking in both these countries, male smokers smoked more cigarettes on average per day. In all countries but Lithuania and Spain, 45-54% of students fully agreed with a ban on smoking in university buildings. There were large differences in support for a ban based on whether students identified as smokers. Between 23 and 74% of never smokers and 4 to 10% of daily smokers supported a ban. Conclusions: Smoking behavior among university students differed substantially across the studied European countries. Although there is considerable support for a ban on smoking in university buildings, daily smokers, who would conceivably benefit the most from this policy, tend to disagree with such a ban.