Abstract
Background: In recent years, Electronic cigarettes became popular worldwide, especially in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With the lack of data regarding this subject, this study aims to assess the prevalence of electronic cigarette users among health science students. Materials and Methods: Random cross-sectional study, including six different health science colleges and their students at the University of Ha'il. Results: A total of 335 students completed the questionnaire, with only 22.98% smoking conventional cigarettes, and 29.9% using electronic cigarettes. 31% of the electronic cigarette users are using it for entertainment purposes only. More than three-fourths (77.7%) of the participants who used electronic cigarettes to quit smoking conventional cigarettes were partially successful. When asked about addictiveness, almost half (46.2%) of those aged between 19 and 22 believed that both conventional cigarettes and electronic cigarettes are equally addictive. Conclusion: Electronic cigarettes use is common among health science students, mostly for entertainment purposes. Electronic cigarettes are more prevalent than conventional cigarettes among health science students and have not been proven as a successful method to stop conventional cigarettes.