Analysis the hookah usage and gambling situations of university students

Addictions such as hookah use and gambling, which are common among young people in recent years, are important public health problems. This study was conducted to examine the hookah use, gambling status and to determine the factors affecting their hookah and gambling by university students. The study is of cross-sectional type. The sample of the study consisted of 1724 students studying at a university. Stratified random sampling method was used. Data were collected by using the Questionnaire and The South Oaks Gambling Screening (SOGC). The data obtained from the study were evaluated in SPSS 22.0 package program. Number, percentage, mean and Anova, Independent Samples t test, Logistic Regression analysis,Chi square test were used in the study. The average age of the students is 23.38±4.98 , 57.3 ages % of them are men. The mean age of starting hookah smoking was 17.84±3.61 years, and the rate of hookah smoking was 20.9%. Among the students, hookah smoking rates were found to be high for hookah users who think that hookah is harmless compared to cigarettes, will not cause infectious diseases and will not cause addiction (p<0.05). In addition, decreasing age, being male, smoking and smoking hookah by people close to him increase the student's hookah use (p<0.05). In the study, gambling at least once in their life was 22.8%, and pathological gambling was 1.0%. Increasing age, low grade level, alcohol use, poor family communication, and being dissatisfied with life increase the SOGC score. The frequency and duration of gambling, playing with strategy and thinking that it can be won by losing increase the pathological gambling status of the student (p<0.05). As a result, the rate of participants both smoking hookah and gambling at least once in their life is more than one in five. The age and knowledge level of hookah users are low and they are influenced by their immediate surroundings. Various campaigns can be conducted to raise awareness of the dangers of hookah smoking and gambling addiction among students and to attract their attention to other areas.