Evaluation of the prevalence and behaviours of the ex-smoker university students

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence, knowledge, and attitudes of ex-smokers at the university in Konya. Methods: This study consisted of 613 ex-smoker university students. The participants were selected by multiphase sampling from 17 different faculties. Data were obtained via questionnaire technique by interviewing. The Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Result: In the majority of ex-smokers (98%), the initiation age of smoking was under 21 years. 70.0% of ex-smokers had had the knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking before. The most effective way of smoking-cessation was sudden quitting (55.7%). Conclusion: Cigarette smoking is an important public health problem in Turkey. An effective and comprehensive-national tobacco control program is urgently needed.