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 smokingacross three generations and perceptions of the smoking-cancer relationship on the cigarette smoking status ofTurkish university students. Materials and
Methods: The study sample comprised of 434 university studentsstudying in different departments of a university. Data were collected using a socio-demographic data collectionform and the Decisional Balance Scaleqand evaluated using the Mann-Whitney U test, CHAID and multipleregression 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 ascertainedbetween 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 smokingratios 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 cigarettesmoking 3.7 fold. Cigarette smoking by grandparents, and believing that there is a relationship between smokingand 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 thestudents, believing that there is a relationship between smoking and cancer, and cigarette smoking by parentsare influential variables in determining cigarette smoking by Turkish students.