SMOKING BEHAVIOR AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND AFFECTING FACTORS

Abstract

Purpose: It aimed to examine smoking behavior and factors that affect university students.

Method: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with students of medicine, dentistry, midwifery, veterinary medicine, molecular biology, and genetics between 1 and 10 May 2024. The sociodemographic data form and the Smoking and Tobacco Awareness (STA) survey form were administered to the students online using the Google Forms application.

Results: A total of 357 students were reached. The average age of the students was 20.7±1.7 (Min=18, Max=35), and the majority (n=118, 32.1%) were studying at the faculty of medicine. Girls (n=276, 77.3%), non-smokers (n=299, 83.8%), people who have never used e-cigarettes (82.6%), people who did not start smoking at university (89.4%), and people who do not drink alcohol (n=316, 88.5%) was in the majority. Those who started smoking their first cigarette (31.9%) and e-cigarette (16.2%) and started smoking daily cigarettes (16.0%) and e-cigarettes (5.3%) were more likely to be 16 years old. The most common reason why students tried e-cigarettes for the first time was curiosity (14.0%). Most of the students who smoke (11.8%) stated that they tried to quit smoking, and 81% stated that they did not think about quitting smoking. In the STA, more than half of the students answered the other 12 questions correctly, except for two questions (questions 1 and 13). The students' STA score was 31.2 ± 7.9 (min=14, max=54) and did not differ significantly according to any feature (p>0.05).

Conclusion: In order to reduce the use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes by students, it is essential to increase anti-smoking campaigns and education programs in universities and to inform and support students correctly.