Examining Demographic Factors Related to Cigarette Smoking among Undergraduate Students at a Turkish University

Abstract

Cigarette smoking is the leading global preventable health risk, and it is associated with well-known health risks such as morbidity, mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and nicotine addiction. When analyzed by age group, cigarette smoking in Turkey is the most prevalent among younger adult populations. The college years appear to be a time of increased risk for smoking initiation and movement into regular patterns of use, although college smokers are more likely to be non-daily smokers, meaning that they smoke more in social situations. This paper aims to identify the demographic factors related to cigarette smoking of undergraduate students in Erzurum, Atatürk University; to interpret these factors, and to assist in informing alternatives for taking more effective action than the typical cessation campaigns. Using logistic regression analysis with cross-sectional data obtained using the questionnaire; the factors affecting cigarette smoking in this context were identified. The demographic factors of sex, geographical region, parents’ residence, father’s profession, the number of individuals in the family, professional status, and general satisfaction were found to be statistically significant at the 0.05 significance level; while faculty and present residence were statistically significant at the 0.10 significance level. The analysis therefore shows that the demographic factors listed above influence the cigarette smoking habits of undergraduate students in Atatürk University.