Effect of religious beliefs on the smoking behaviour of university students: quantitative findings from Malaysia
The Malaysian official Islamic authorities have issued a ‘‘fatwa’’ (Islamic ruling) regarding smoking practice which prohibits Muslims from smoking because of its potential harm to health. Since the prevalence of smoking among Malaysian students is high, this study was designed to explore the perc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
Springer
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/44952/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/44952/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/44952/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/44952/1/art%253A10.1007%252Fs10943-015-0136-0.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/44952/4/44952_Effect%20of%20religious%20beliefs_SCOPUS_WOS.pdf |
| Summary: | The Malaysian official Islamic authorities have issued a ‘‘fatwa’’ (Islamic
ruling) regarding smoking practice which prohibits Muslims from smoking because of its
potential harm to health. Since the prevalence of smoking among Malaysian students is
high, this study was designed to explore the perceptions and opinions of Malaysian Muslim
students towards smoking in International Islamic University of Malaysia. A prospective,
cross-sectional study was conducted among School of Science students in International
Islamic University Malaysia. Convenience sampling approach was used to recruit 323
students based on sample size calculation. A content- and face-validated questionnaire was
used to collect the data from the participants. Non-smokers highly supported the fatwa on
smoking forbiddance than smokers (94 vs 64.3 %, p = 0.001). A significant proportion of
non-smokers believed that Islam prohibits smoking because of its potential harm (94.9 vs
71.4 %, p = 0.001). Majority of smokers agreed that addiction is the main barrier towards
smoking cessation (78.6 vs 61.5 %, p = 0.019). The results showed positive influences of
Islamic beliefs on the non-smokers. Further studies are required to validate these findings
by surveying other universities of Malaysia. |
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