The Experiences of Smokers Admitted to a Smoking Cessation Center in Samsun Regarding their Addiction: A Qualitative Study

Abstract: Background: Primary care physicians have a vital opportunity to help their patients quit smoking. They need to provide an individualized approach to them while in the cessation process in order to help them understand. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the individualized interacting factors and principles of starting, maintaining, quitting, and relapse of tobacco addiction among smokers. Materials and Methods: This qualitative research performed between March and December 2015 involved 331 smokers who had applied to the Ondokuz Mayis University, Medical Faculty Family Medicine Cessation Clinic, Türkiye. In the first meeting, a workshop (lasting approximately 1 hour) was held for all the participants (31) and recorded. In this workshop the participants discussed how they started smoking and why they wanted to quit. They reported examples of successful quitting with which they were familiar, together with any precautions they took in order to protect themselves and the people around them. Every workshop was decoded and analyzed by the researchers. Result: One hundred nineteen (35.7%) of the participants were women, and the mean age of the study group was 37.75 ± 12.41 years. Most of the participants (n=280, 85%) began smoking under the age of 18, with a close friend providing the cigarettes in the majority of cases (n=212, 64%). The main motivation differed between younger and older participants. In order to protect themselves, participants used external tar filters, smoked ‘light’ cigarettes, and refrained from smoking after eating or before sleeping. They also tended to smoke in the kitchen or on the balcony to protect other household members from their smoke. In addition, the participants increased their physical activity levels, requested more laboratory or screening tests from their physicians, and consumed healthier diets (honey, vitamin pills, and water). Conclusion: The addiction dynamics of cigarette addicts differ very widely.