Causes of the First Use and their Relationship to Continuing Smoking

Abstract

Abstract Background: The objectives of the study lies on explaining the reasons for the first use of smoking by the study sample, and the reasons for continuing smoking, and identifying the differences in the views of the study sample according to a set of variables (gender, age, college year, number of family members, type of smoking, smoking times, feeling when quitting, Smoking, parents, number of smoking siblings, educational level of father and mother, parents' marital status, economic status, smoking friends). Methods: The study was applied through field application and the Internet, in the period from 6/6/2022 to 13/10/2022, on a sample of (563) students from the Syrian Private University, who were chosen in a random way that allows each individual in the university to be part of the sample, and the tool was a questionnaire composed of personal data related to the study sample, and two axes on the reasons for the first use of smoking and the reasons for continuing with it, and the data was analyzed through the statistical program Spss. Results: The reasons for the first use varied, as the item of tension got the highest percentage (95.51%), and in terms of the reasons for continuing to smoke, the item of desire to smoke when feeling angry got a percentage (96.06), and a high percentage found it difficult to give up smoking by (97.02), while there were no differences according to the study variables for each of the reasons for using and continuing to smoke, and there were differences according to the variable smoking times, it was regular, the number of smoking packets, it was one packet / day, friends in favor of the smoking friend, and the reasons for returning to smoking because of the desire to do so. Conclusion: The reasons for practicing and continuing the habit of smoking require working to address it by all possible means. There must be concerted efforts between the various private and public bodies and civil society institutions to stop this phenomenon, and to preserve society and its children and their health.