Introduction:

Tobacco use is harmful to health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) smoking is the cause of death for approximately 8 million people each year.

Objective:

The purpose of the research was to determine the factors associated with tobacco consumption in university students from Metropolitan Lima.

Methods:

The sample consisted of 447 students from different universities in Lima, a previously validated survey was applied: Fagerstrom test to measure tobacco consumption. Subsequently, the data was analyzed using distribution, frequency and contingency tables. In addition, regression statistical test was applied to obtain the prevalence ratios (PR) of the study variables in both bivariate and multivariate analyzes, with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI).

Results:

It was evidenced that there is a significant association between male sex and smoking (p = 0.01), with an RP = 1,67 and 95% CI = . It was also observed that having smoking parents was statistically associated with smoking in university students, with a value of p=0.00, and an RP=2,53 with a 95% CI = . No significant association was found between the variables age and social pressure.

Conclusion:

The variables sex and smoking parents have a significant association with tobacco consumption, emphasizing that both our family and academic environment deserve to be safe, healthy and free of tobacco smoke.

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