Psycho-social study of cigarette smoking.

The present study has been carried out to assess the smoking habit among medical students and its relationship to demographic, social and psychological characteristics. Prevalence of smoking was found to be 30.79% in 854 students who responded to the questionnaire adequately. Smoking habit was more common among student who were married hailed from rural areas and the intensity of smoking increased with advancement in the career in medical profession. A strong association was observed between the habit and family history of smoking. The psychological factors associated with smoking were worry about examination unhappiness without justified cause and failure in friendship.