Despite the harmful effects of smok

Despite the harmful effects of smoking, about one quarter (23.2%) of students in four colleges in Basrah University were found to be current smokers. This number is alarming in that young people who experiment with cigarettes are more likely to become daily smokers in the future.[18] This concern is compounded by the fact that younger smokers (age 18 to 29 years) are less concerned about the negative health effects of smoking than older smokers (>50 yeas of age). [19] Other researchers have reported that smoking prevalence in college students is complicated by the fact that these young adults believe that they can easily quit smoking, ignoring its addictive properties, and ultimately believe they can be spared from the long-term effects of smoking. [20] The prevalence of smoking among Basrah University students was lower than that reported in other countries such as Jordan, (35.0%), [21] Turkey (42.5%), [8] and Kuwait (42.2%).[7] However, it is higher than that reported in Egypt (11.8%) among Cairo University students,[22] and in United Arab Emirates (15.1%) among Sharjah University students. [9] This variation may be due to
different socio-cultural factors. The type of college seems to play a role in modifying the prevalence of smoking. This finding is consistent with that in other studies.[23] Although the mean age of starting smoking in this study was below 18 years (17.1± 2.7), more than 50% of the students started smoking at 18 years of age or more i.e. after joining the university, a result which agrees with that of Everett et al[24] who pointed out that although smoking initiation primarily occurs during adolescence, many young adults may also initiate their daily smoking patterns during college. Many students reported that they enjoyed smoking, and many others did not feel the guilt of smoking, in addition, more than half of the smokers had the intent to quit smoking, but many of them were unable to quit smoking. These findings may indicate what had been reported before that the decision to smoke and to continue smoking is a free choice made by an adult, but nicotine addiction is really a condition that takes hold in young people. Young people are aware of the dangers associated with smoking and nicotine addiction, but they do not believe that these