Abstract:

Objective: The aim of this study was to observe smoking and nicotine addiction status and of medical school students and to establish relating factors. Methods: A questionnaire was applied to students who were in Mustafa Kemal University Medical School in 2013-2014 semesters about smoking behavior, age of onset, thought of quitting, attitudes against, nicotine addiction, use of alcohol and other drugs. Results: Of the 712 students 54.5% (388) were male, while 45.5% (324) were female and overall smoking rate was 25.6%. The average age of smoking initiation was 17.7 ± 2.8 years. The overall smoking rates are increasing every year of school. 40.1% (73) of smokers reported the smoke in the hospital, while 33.5% (61) of them smoke only in the separated area. Almost half of the smokers (51.6%, 94) had very low, 19.2% (35) low, 8.8% (16) moderate, 14.3% (26) high, and 6% (11) very high level of nicotine dependency. Of the participants 46.3% (330) reported no special anti-tobacco efforts against in the society, whether only 2.4% (17) of them stated regular counseling. Non smokers showed more effort than smokers (p=0.0001). 40.1% of the smokers reported that medical education didn’t affect their attitude against smoking, while 19.8% stated that it affected negatively. Conclusion: In conclusion the study found a higher smoking prevalence compared to developed countries Medical school curricula need to be reframed in the context of smoking cessation counseling in order to win the war against tobacco use and addiction

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