Tobacco and Alcohol Use among Romanian Dental and Medical Students: a Cross-sectional Questionnaire Survey

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess smoking and alcohol use in Romanian dental and medical students. Materials and Methods: A total of 185 questionnaires were distributed to male and female dental and medical students (first and sixth year). Results: Across all groups, 60.86% of the responders have never been smokers, while the prevalence of smoking among the different groups was 28.84% for Year 1 dental students, 53.18% for Year 6 dental students, 39.58% for Year 1 medical students and 36.36% for Year 6 medical students. Unadjusted linear regressions showed significant linear relationships between average number of cigarettes smoked a day and average age when students started smoking (p 0.05). Of Year 6 dental students, 41.30% have drunk at least once a week, compared with 24% of dental freshmen. The use of alcohol among males was significantly higher than in females (p 0.0001). Unadjusted linear regressions showed significant linear relationships between frequency of smoking and alcohol consumption (p 0.05). Conclusions: Both medical and dental students in Romania may benefit from preventive interventions in universities addressing the health risk behaviours of alcohol use and smoking. Keywords: smoking, alcohol, dental students, medical students