Abstract

This study was conducted for the purpose of determining the status of cigarette smoking by health officer students, the factors affecting use of cigarettes, and the students’ opinions about cigarettes. The study was conducted during the 2004-2005 school year with 106 of the total 135 students in the Health Officer School at Pamukkale University Denizli Health Sciences School, who were available and agreed to participate in the study by completing a 29 question form. Their mean age was 21.9±2.0 years, 83% were male and 33% stated that they smoked cigarettes. It was determined that 42.9% of the students had smoked cigarettes for 4-6 years, and the most important factor for starting to smoke for 45.7% of them was their friends and acquaintances. Eighty percent of the cigarette smokers were thinking about quitting smoking in the future, 80% had tried to quit, and 71.4% had restarted smoking because it was a habit. In the examination of the smoking status of the students and their opinions about cigarette smoking, it was determined that the majority of those who smoked were affected by their friends, in general they found them to be satisfying, comforting and a sign of havingmore fun. In conclusion it is important for health officers, as health care professionals, not to smoke, as they are examples to the public and their patients. For this reason the factors that influence students to smoke cigarettes need to be determined and educational programs need to be organized in social activity areas, particularly in schools, and methods need to be shown to those who want to quit smoking that emphasize the positive sides of non-smoking life.