EFFECTIVE FACTORS ON SMOKING BASED ON BASNEF MODEL IN MALE STUDENTS IN TEHRAN MEDICAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY IN 2009

Smoking as a health risk behavior endangers not only the individual but also community health and is one of the preventable causes of death. This risk behavior is growing among educated young people. This study was aimed to investigate effective factors leading to smoking based on BASNEF Model in male students in Tehran Medical Sciences University in 2009.

This descriptive analytical study was performed on 200 male students that were selected by snowball sampling method. The data were collected using a questionnaires based on BASNEF Model. The data were analyzed by Chi-square tests, and Pearson correlation coefficient.

The survey results showed that the most frequent causes of smoking were easy access to cigarettes (80%) and peers smoking (82%). Considering the attitude of the samples 33.5% had a positive, 19.5% neutral and 47% had a negative attitude toward smoking. There was a significant association between positive attitude to smoking and students’ years of study or parental education. There also was a significant relationship between age at onset of smoking with either parents or peers smoking. There was a relationship between low price cigarettes and the number of cigarettes smoked per day. The average number of cigarettes smoked per day and students age and cigar costs per month showed a positive correlation.

The importance of attitudes, subjective norms, and factors affecting smoking are highlighted in the study and health officials must urge to pursue structural interventions to prevent them.