Smoking Trends and Their Short Term Complications in Young Adults
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37018/OPQW8910Keywords:
Smoking, aerobic capacity, short-term complications, cardiorespiratory fitness, dyspneaAbstract
Background: Cigarette smoking is a reversible cause of cardiopulmonary diseases that may, in other cases, cause short-term and long-term complications, including declined aerobic capacity in adolescents. This study aimed to identify the most common smoking trends, associated short-term complications and the effect on aerobic endurance among young adults.
Methodology: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Rawalpindi & Islamabad, recruiting 140 participants (88 males, 52 females). Smokers and non-smokers aged 16 to 26 years were selected through non-probability convenience sampling over 5 months (February-June 2019). The Basic Smoking Assessment Questionnaire (BSAQ), the Modified Borg Scale, and the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) test were used for data collection purposes. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to assess the normality of the data.
Results: Cigarette smoking is the most common mode of smoking (25%), while halitosis (bad breath) was the most frequently occurring short-term complication (8.6%). The VO₂ max evaluated via Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) showed a significant difference (p<0.001) in endurance between smokers and non-smokers. Non-smokers had greater cardiovascular endurance than smokers.
Conclusion: Smoking is highly prevalent among young adults and is associated with early short-term adverse effects and reduced cardiorespiratory fitness. Also smoking among young adults was predominantly cigarette-based, with a considerable proportion engaging in multiple forms of tobacco use. The findings highlight the need for targeted tobacco control strategies and early interventions to reduce smoking-related short-term health complications in this population.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Nashmia Mehmood, Sana Bashir, Syeda Sumaira Batool, Iqra Taj, Maryam Javed Ghumman, Aqsa Tariq
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The Journal of Fatima Jinnah Medical University follows the Attribution Creative Commons-Non commercial (CC BY-NC) license which allows the users to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, remix, transform and build upon the material. The users must give credit to the source and indicate, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. However, the CC By-NC license restricts the use of material for commercial purposes. For further details about the license please check the Creative Commons website. The editorial board of JFJMU strives hard for the authenticity and accuracy of the material published in the journal. However, findings and statements are views of the authors and do not necessarily represent views of the Editorial Board.
