According to a joint study by the School of Communications and Meram School of Medicine Family Physicians Department at Selcuk University (SU), the smoking age is going down. Starting to smoke at a young age increases nicotine addiction and gives rise to behavioral anomalies in young people.

According to a study involving one thousand and 823 people, one thousand and 135 of them being men; 39.7 percent of smokers started smoking between the ages 10-15, and 52.3 percent between the ages 16-20.

The results of the study are as follows:

Smoking starts with a fad

* 56.2 percent of the people who participated in the study, still smoke. 21.4 percent have smoked at some point in their lives, then quitted. 83.6 percent of cigarette addicts admit to smoking a packet a day.

* The main reason for young people to start smoking is the influence of friends. 45.5 percent of the participants said they started smoking because their friends or companions influenced them. 16.6 percent started smoking as a result of a "fad," while 6.9 percent started smoking because of a "stressful lifestyle."

"I would die if I quit smoking"

* 67.2 percent of smokers said, "smoking gives me pleasure." 7.4 percent of the addicts said they weren't sure whether smoking gave them pleasure or not, while 25.4 percent of smokers said, "It doesn't give me any pleasure to smoke. But if I quit smoking I would die. I can't live without cigarettes at this point."

"Smoking leads to behavioral anomalies"

Assistant Associate Professor Dr. Ruhusen Kutlu, who is in charge of the Policlinic for Quitting Smoking at the Selcuk University, provided the following information on cigarette smoking and the results of the research:

* Starting to smoke at a young age leads to a very strong nicotine addiction. Tobacco consumption results in an addiction which is much more powerful than heroin or cocain addiction.

* Cigarette smoking is a step towards the consumption of drugs. A smoker bears a risk eight times higher than a non-smoker to start consuming drugs.

* Dangerous behavioral anomalies including aggressiveness, becoming a gang-member, or abnormal sexual relations, are more common among young smokers. (NK/BB)