[Perception among college students of the healthcare law against smoking].

Objective: To understand smoking habits among college students and their opinion about the anti-smoking law.

Method: Cross-sectional descriptive study conducted. Data gathering was carried out through surveys.

Results: Sample of 284 students. 42.6% were smokers and 11.6% were ex-smokers. The heaviest smokers were among the 24-29 age group and those who combined work and school. 13.2% did not perceive any risk in smoking, and 16.1% were unconcerned about the risks to passive smokers. 66.3% of smokers were worried about the effects of smoking on their health. Women perceived more than men that the anti-smoking law implementation was effective and was socially beneficial. Since the anti-smoking law came into effect, 16.5% of the sample had quit smoking and 35.5% had considered quitting. 24.6% did not abide by the law. Agreeing with the law was correlated with being a non-smoker or an ex-smoker being between 18 and 23 years of age or older than 30, studying health sciences, perceiving that smoking creates health hazards and being female.

Conclusion: These results are of interest because they facilitate the planning of specific activities targeted to this type of people, who in the future will become social points of references. Since smoking constitutes one of the biggest public health problems it should be tackled with a greater commitment from health and academic authorities, including assistance for those willing to quit smoking.