Do the youth in a medical vocational school support the new legislation on tobacco control? [Sagli{dotless}kçi{dotless} gençler sigara yasaklari{dotless}ni{dotless} destekliyor mu? sagli{dotless}k Hizmetleri Meslek Yüksekokulu ögrencilerinin görüşleri]

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the attitudes and behaviour of Ege University Ataturk Medical Technology Vocational Training School (AMTVTS) students about the new smoking ban. Material and Method: Among first and second year students taking Public Health courses in 2008-2009 in anesthesist, optician, radiology, medical laboratory and medical documentation programmes of the AMTVTS, 84.2% (n=138) participated in this cross-sectional descriptive survey. A questionnaire was developed using the Ministry of Health's questionnaire and applied just before the application of the smoking ban in cafes and pubs. Chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used for analyses. Results: Of the students, 43.7% have never smoked. Women, older and higher-grade students, students in radiology and optician programmes had a higher smoking prevalence (p<0.05). Among students, 83.3% supported the new legislation. 87.6% supported the smoking ban in hospitals, 73.2% in restaurants and 66.0% in coffee houses. 32.6% thought that the law restricted citizens' personal rights. 80.5% thought that it would not be possible to apply the law. Among smokers, 51% supported the law. Non-smokers (OR=4.3), health vocational high school graduates (OR=7.4) and students with no or few friends smoking (OR=6.0) had a higher rate of support (p