Factors Associated with Continued Smoking Addiction and Alcohol Consumption among Medical Students in Capital City in the Northeast of Brazil

ABSTRACT Introduction Drug use among young people in Brazil is increasing, particularly among the university students, leading to additional health-related concerns for students. Objective To identify factors associated with continued smoking addiction and alcohol consumption among medical students. Methods An analytical, prevalence study was carried out involving medical students at the four medical schools of Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil. A semi-structured questionnaire with 46 objective questions was applied to students in their first year of the course (S1/S2) in 2012 and again in 2016, when these same students were taking their internship (I3/I4). The sample was calculated based on a study population consisting of all the students in the two periods evaluated. The project was approved by the REC, through opinion no. 020/2012. Results 360 students were interviewed in the first phase of the research, and 354 students in the second phase. Tobacco consumption increased from 17.4% during the first year of the course to 28.2% during the internship (p