Abstract
Religious beliefs and attitudes contribute to a healthy life by helping individuals avoiding negative behaviors that can affect health. In this respect, clergymen can play an important role in smoking control by being models for the society. This study was conducted to evaluate smoking situations and views on cigarette use by Erciyes University, Faculty of Theology students. In this cross-sectional descriptive research, a questionnaire was conducted with the first and last year students studying in the Faculty of Theology (305). 88.2% of the students (97.0% of the women and 69.6% of the men) have never smoked; 6.9% of them (3.0% freshmen/16.0% senior students) still smoke and 4.9% of them have quit smoking. 81.0% of the smokers have thought of quitting smoking and 47.6% of them have tried to quit smoking. 70.6% of those thinking of quitting smoking stated that religion is motivating their thought of quitting smoking. 73.8% of the students expressed that religious sensitivity could affect smoking, 54.4% stated that smoking was an abomination to religion and 43.3% expressed that religion totally forbids smoking. Some measures need to be taken for fight against smoking, a global and preventable problem. Countries make legislative regulations to solve this problem and in addition to this, individuals such as clergymen and educators should also be mindful for the solution of this problem.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Atkins, L. A., Oman, R. F., Vesely, S. K., Aspy, C. B., & McLeroy, K. (2002). Adolescent tobacco use: The protective effects of developmental assets. American Journal of Health Promotion, 16, 198–205.
Aykut, M., Günay, O., Öztürk, Y., Çıtıl, R., & Borlu, A. (2009). Change of smoking prevalence among Erciyes University students between 1985–2005. Erciyes Medical Journal, 31(2), 126–134.
Boyaci, H., Çorapçıoğlu, A., Ilgazlı, A., Başyiğit, İ., & Yıldız, F. (2003). The evaluation of smoking habits in Kocaeli University students. Respiratory Diseasae Journal, 14, 169–175.
Bush, J., White, M., Kai, J., Rankin, J., & Bhopal, R. (2003). Understanding influences on smoking in Bangladeshi and Pakistani adults: Community based qualitative study. BMJ, 326(3), 1–6.
Ceylan, E., Yanık, M., & Gencer, M. (2005). The factors that affect attitudes towards smoking among students who are enrolled at Harran University. Turkish Thoracic Journal, 6, 144–150.
Chapman, S. (1996). Tobacco control. BMJ, 313, 97–100.
Chatters, L. M. (2000). Religion and health: Public health research and practice. Annual Review of Public Health, 21, 335–367.
Cohen, S. J., Stookey, G. K., & Katz, B. P. (1989). Encouraging primary care phsicians to help smokers quit. Annals of Internal Medicine, 110(8), 648–652.
Demirel, Y., & Sezer, R. E. (2005). Smoking prevalence among University students in Sivas region. Erciyes Medical Journal, 27(1), 1–6.
Dittes, J. E. (1969). Psychology of religion. In E. Aronson (Ed.), The handbook of social psychology (Vol. 5, pp. 602–659). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Ellison, C. G., & Levin, J. S. (1998). The religious–health connection: Evidence, theory and future directions. Health Education and Behavior, 25(6), 700–720.
Erguder, S., Çakır, B., Aslan, D., Charles, W. W., Nathan, R. J., & Asma, S. (2008). Evaluation of the use of global youth tobacco survey (GYTS) data for developing evidence-based tobacco control policies in Turkey. BMC Public Health, 8(1), 1–4.
Everett, S. A., Warren, C. W., Sharp, D., Kann, L., Husten, C. G., & Crossett, L. S. (1999). Initiation of cigarette smoking and subsequent smoking behavoir among U.S. high school students. Preventive Medicine, 29(327), 333.
Fritz, J. D. (2003). An intervention for adolescent smoking cessation. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Missouri-Saint Louris.
Haynes, J. (1994). Religion in third world politics. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Hiemstra, M., Otten, R., De Leeuw, R. N. H., Van Schayck, O. C. P., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2011). The changing role of self-efficacy in adolescent smoking initiation. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48, 597–603.
Ilhan, F., Aksakal, F. N., İlhan, M., & Aygün, N. R. (2005). Smoking prevalence among Gazi University Faculty of Medicine. TAF Preventive Medicine Bulletein, 4(4), 188–198.
Jairath, N., Mirchell, K., & Filleon, B. (2003). Childhood smoking: The research, clinical and theoretical imperative for nursing action, International Council of Nursing. İnternational Nursing Review, 50, 203–214.
Kaşikçi, M., Ünsal, A., Çoban, Gİ., & Avşar, G. (2008). Smoking habits of the final grade students at Atatürk University in Erzurum. Turkish Thoracic Journal, 9, 93–98.
Kenney, R. D., Lyles, M. F., & Turner, R. C. (1998). Smoking cessation counseling by resident phsicians in internal medicine, family practice and pediatrics. Archives of Internal Medicine, 148(11), 2469–2473.
Kolbe, L. J., Tirozzi, G. N., Marx, E., et al. (2005). Health programs for school employees: Improving quality of life, health and productivity. Promotion and Education, 12(3–4), 157–161.
Lam, T. H., Chung, S. F., Betson, C. L., Wong, C. M., & Hedley, A. J. (1998). Respiratory symptoms due to activeand passive smoking in junior secondary school students in Hong Kong. International Journal of Epidemiology, 27(1), 41–48.
Levin, J. S. (1996). How religion influences morbidity and health: Reflections on natural history, salutogenesis and host resistance. Social Science and Medicine, 43, 849–864.
Mergen, H., Mergen-Erdoğmuş, B., Tavlı, V., Öngel, K., & Tan, Ş. (2011). Assessment of smoking behaviors of 2509 Turkish university students and its correlates: a cross-sectional study. Tuberculosis and Thorax, 59(2), 126–131.
Metintaş, S., Sarıboyacı, M. A., Nuhoğlu, S., Metintaş, M., Kalyoncu, C., Etiz, S., et al. (1998). Smoking patterns of University Students in Eskişehir, Turkey. Public Health, 112(4), 261–264.
Özcebe, H., Doğan, B. G., İnal, E., Haznedaroğlu, D., & Bertan, M. (2014). Smoking habits and the related sociodemographic characteristics in University students. Turkish Thoracic Journal, 15, 42–48.
Pekşen, Y., Canbaz, S., Sünter, A. T., & Tunçel, E. K. (2005). Smoking prevalance and affecting factors in students of Ondokuz Mayıs University physicial education and sports academy. Journal of Dependence (Bağımlılık Dergisi), 6, 111–116.
Pullen, L., Modrcin-Talbott, M. A., West, W. R., & Muenchen, R. (1999). Spiritual high vs high on spirits: Is religiosity related to adolescent alcohol and drug abuse? Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 6, 3–8.
Saatci, E., Inan, S., Bozdemir, N., Akpinar, E., & Guney, E. (2004). Predictors of smoking behavior of first year university students: Questionnaire survey. Croatian Medical Journal, 45(1), 76–79.
Saeed, A. A. W., Khoja, T. A., & Khan, S. B. (1996). Smoking behavior and attitudes among adult Saudi nationals in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. Tobacco Control, 5, 215–219.
Schwartz, J. L. (1992). Methods of smoking cessation. Medical Clinics of North America, 76, 451–475.
Strote, J., Lee, J. E., & Wechsler, H. (2002). Increasing MDMA use among college students: Results of a national survey. Journal of Adolescent Health, 30(1), 64–72.
Sucakli, M. H., Ozer, A., Celik, M., Kahraman, H., & Ekerbicer, H. C. (2011). Religious officials’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior towards smoking and the new tobacco law in Kahramanmaras, Turkey. BMC Public Health, 11, 602–608.
Sutherland, I., & Shepherd, J. P. (2001). Social dimensions of adolescent substance use. Addiction, 96, 445–458.
Swaddiwudhipong, W., Chaovakiratipong, C., Nguntra, P., Khumklam, P., & Silarug, N. A. (1993). Thai Monk: an agent for smoking reduction in a rural population. International Journal of Epidemiology, 22, 660–665.
Talay, F., Kurt, B., & Tuğ, T. (2008). Smoking habits of the elementary school teacher students in education faculty and related factors. Tuberculosis and Thorax, 56(2), 171–178.
Ulgen, H., Ozturk, C., & Armstrong, M. (2012). Effect of self-efficacy on Turkish children’s perceptions of the advantages/disadvantages of smoking. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 13, 795–798.
Van Zundert, R. M. P., Engels, R. C. M. E., & Van Den Eijnden, R. J. J. M. (2006). Adolescent smoking continuation: Reduction and progression in smoking after experimentation and recent onset. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29, 435–447.
Whooley, M. A., Boyd, A. L., Gardin, J. M., & Williams, D. R. (2002). Religious involvement and cigarette smoking in young adults: The CARDIA study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 162(14), 1604–1610.
Yong, H., Hamann, S. L., Borland, R., Fong, G. T., Omar, M., & ITC-SEA project team. (2009). Adult smokers’ perception of the role of religion and religious leadership on smoking and association with quitting: A comparison between Thai Buddhists and Malaysian Muslims. Social Science and Medicine, 69(7), 1025–1031.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dogan, M., Cetinkaya, F., Senol, V. et al. Smoking Behaviors and Viewpoints of Smoking by Erciyes University, Faculty of Theology Students. J Relig Health 60, 1729–1738 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00837-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00837-3