TY - JOUR T1 - What do the adolescents think about smoking and ban strategies in Turkey? JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 40 IS - Suppl 56 SP - P4061 AU - Baki Umut Tugay AU - Burcu Ilhan AU - Tuba Çatak AU - Tugba Kabakçi AU - Hatice Koç AU - Nazan Tugay Y1 - 2012/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/P4061.abstract N2 - Preventing youth from initiating tobacco use is a key aspect of all tobacco prevention efforts. Most smokers become tobacco dependent before age 18 years. The purpose of the present study was to investigate thoughts of high school children about smoking behaviours and antismoking policies in Turkey. 731 students volunteered (336 male, 395 female, mean age 16,20±1,15) to participate in the study from 7 different high schools. After taking written consent from their parents all the students filled the 16 item questionnaire developed by the researchers. 72.7 % of the students thought that their teachers were not good models for not smoking. 10.9 % believed that smoking is a sign of growing up and 45,7 % the students believed that they can quit whenever they wanted if smoked. 85 % of the students totally or partially agreed with the prohibition of cigarette advertising and 95.4 % of the students agreed with the prohibition of smoking in public places but 42.8 % of the students believed that smoking on the streets is not a stimulating behavior. 30.6 % did not think that increasing the cigarette prices would not have positive effect on decreasing smoking rates. 10 % and 12 % of the students thought that water pipe and light cigarettes are less harmful than the normal cigarettes respectively. A clear opportunity for intervening with youth lies in the school setting, and so besides the ban policies, comprehensive tobacco control and education programs including the parents should be initiated. ER -