Tobacco Epidemic Keeps Spreading Among Turkish Youth

Abstract

Objective: This study was carried out to show Turkey's prevalence of tobacco use among 15-24 year olds, to evaluate passively the affected cases, to determine the tendency to quit smoking and to contribute to the development of effective interventions for young people. Methods: In this study, Turkey Statistical Institute (TurkStat) Health Survey 2014 data, representing the whole Turkey population, and a stratified sampling method were used. Results: The sample group represented the population in the age group of 15–24 years in Turkey (11,750,297 young people). Nearly one of five young people (18.5%) was a daily smoker. The percentage of male daily smokers was significantly higher than that of female daily smokers (p