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ALBANIAN MEDICAL JOURNAL SUPPLEMENTSmoking prevalence and its association with sociodemographicfactors among students of theUniversity of Tirana and the Polytechnic UniversityLoreta Kuneshka 1 , Marsida Duli 2 , Numila Maliqari 31Faculty of Public Health, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania;2Department of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kristal University, Tirana, Albania;3Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania.Aim: The aim of this study was to assess theprevalence of smoking and its association withsocio-demographic factors among students of theUniversityof Tirana and the Polytechnic University.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conductedin January-October 2012 inclduing a sample of 665students (55% females) at the University of Tiranaand 798 students at the Polytechnic University (40%females). All participants completed an anonymousquestionnaire on smoking habits aiming to assessstudents level of knowledge about the damages thatsmoking causes, the organs and systems that aremostly affected and the sources of informationabout smoking (written media, electronic media,school, or other sources). The questionnaire alsoincluded socio-demographic data. Logisticregression was used to assess the associationbetween smoking and socio-demographiccharacteristics. Chi-square test was used to comparethe group of students of the University of Tiranawith the students of the Polytechnic University.Results: Boys had a higher smoking prevalence thangirls (39% vs. 24%, P