Tobacco cessation attempts among Turkish adolescents: a structural equation model analysis

Abstract Background The Turkish Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2017 revealed that 17.9% of students aged 13-15 used tobacco products and 7.7% smoked cigarettes. Given the prevalence of smoking, it is important to evaluate the factors associated with quit attempts among adolescents. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with Turkish adolescents’ attempts to quit smoking. Methods This study utilized the data from GYTS 2017, which is a cross-sectional, nationally representative, school-based study carried out among adolescents. The study population (n = 18,985) consisted of students who had smoked cigarettes within the past year. After excluding inconsistent responses, 9,735 students remained for analysis. The outcome was an attempt to quit smoking within the past year. Structional Equation Model was used for analysis. The model included dependence level, sociodemographic factors, exposure to second-hand smoking, promoting factors for tobacco use (exposure to advertising in stores, at events, or on the internet), and anti-tobacco policies (sale restrictions, exposure to anti-tobacco media messages, TV spots) as latent factors. (The model fit; CFI=0.917, TLI=0.900, RMSEA=0.032). Results Students were 11-17 years and 66.4% were male. In the past 12 months, 56.3% (95%CI:55.3%-57.3%) of smokers attempted to quit. Dependency (ß=0.037, p = 0,008) and exposure to anti-tobacco policies (ß=0.114, p