Cigarette Use, Addiction Levels, and Influential Factors Among Healthcare Students in Türki̇ye

Abstract

This study aims to determine cigarette use, addiction levels, and factors influencing cigarette use among university students. A descriptive-cross-sectional study design was employed, and the study procedure was administered to students enrolled in the Health Sciences Faculty (HSF) and Vocational School (VS) of a foundation university in the southern region of Türkiye during the 2022-2023 Academic Fall Semester. The sample of the study consisted of 802 students (255 from VS and 547 from HSF). Data collection was conducted using a ‘Demographic Information Form’ and the ‘Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).’ It was found that 20.8% of the participating students were cigarette users, and 71.9% initiated cigarette use after the age of 16. Among cigarette users, 34.1% were classified as very mildly addicted, 35.9% as mildly to moderately addicted, and 30.0% as highly and very highly addicted. Considering the results obtained from the Binary Logistic Regression Analysis conducted in this study, being male, having a fragmented family, and having moderate or low academic performance were determined to be factors influencing students’ cigarette use (W = 60.659, p < 0.001; W = 6.076, p = 0.014; W = 10.397, p = 0.001, respectively).