Abstract

Objective

Türkiye has an alarming trend in smoking rates in recent years. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the motivation of people in Türkiye to start and continue smoking, as well as the nicotine addiction levels among smokers.

Material and Methods

The study was conducted using an electronic survey on participants who received care at the cardiology outpatient clinic for any reason. In the study, participants were asked questions about age, gender, income level, education level, chronic disease history, and 6 additional questions that constitute the Fagerstrom scoring, which is the nicotine addiction assessment index. Furthermore, the study examined the reasons behind patients’ initiation of smoking, the factors that contributed to their continuing smoking, and their overall perceives towards smoking.

Results

Three-hundred-ten participants, 168 men and 142 women, were included and the average age of starting smoking was 19.5. Age, education level, income level and chronic disease history are statistically significant between addiction levels (p-value: 0.014, <0.001, 0.039 and <0.001, respectively). 42% of smokers have low, 52% moderate and 6% high nicotine addiction, and an average of 14 cigarettes are smoked per a day. While 79.4% of the participants agree that smoking is very harmful, only 34.8% plan to cessastion soon.

Conclusion

Türkiye has a concerning prevalence of smoking. Our research reveals the prevalence of nicotine addiction, levels of cigarette consumption, and the underlying motivations for both initiation and continuation. The main factors that contribute to the persistence of the smoking habit are the level of nicotine addiction and the pleasurable sensation acquired through smoking.