Effects of Cigarette Smoking across Three Generations and of Perceptions of the Smoking-Cancer Relationship on the Cigarette Smoking Status of Turkish University Students

Background: This descriptive and cross-sectional study aimed to investigate effects of cigarette smoking across three generations and perceptions of the smoking-cancer relationship on the cigarette smoking status of Turkish university students. Materials and Methods: The study sample comprised of 434 university students studying in different departments of a university. Data were collected using a socio-demographic data collection form and the Decisional Balance Scaleqand evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test, CHAID and multiple regression analyses. Results: The average age of the students participating in the study is 19.6+.5.0, some 11.3% of the students reporting that they smoked cigarettes. No statistically significant relationship was ascertained between the cigarette smoking statuses of the students based on the cigarette smoking status of their grandparents (p=0.144). but there was alink to that of their parents (p=0.002). The difference between the cigarette smoking ratios of the students based on their perceptions of smoking-cancer relationship was statistically significant (p<0.001). Believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer decreased likelihood of cigarette smoking 3.7 fold. Cigarette smoking by grandparents, and believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer, and cigarette smoking by parents explained 8.3% of the cigarette smoking status of the students. Conclusions: While cigarette smoking by grandparents only indirectly influences cigarette smoking by the students, believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer, and cigarette smoking by parents are influential variables in determining cigarette smoking by Turkish students.