Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the relationship between smoking at home and health literacy levels.

Materials and Methods: Our study is a cross-sectional analytical study. It was conducted with 164 volunteers aged 18 and over. Sociodemographic data, home smoking status, the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, and the Turkish Health Literacy-32 (TSOY-32) questionnaire were applied through face-to-face interviews.

Results: The mean age of the 164 participants was 42.1 ± 12.8 years (range: 19–75), with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. While 54.9% reported smoking at home, 75.7% of those who did not smoke at home stated that they smoked on an open balcony or terrace. The median smoking history was 22.2 pack-years. The Fagerström score was significantly higher in those who smoked at home (p=0.021). The presence of children was significantly lower among home smokers (p=0.011). Monthly income was lower in home smokers than in non-smokers (p=0.009). Those who smoked only on a balcony/terrace had significantly lower TSOY-32 scores (p=0.024) and monthly income (p<0.001) compared to non-smokers. TSOY-32 scores differed significantly by education level (p=0.035). Post-hoc analysis showed that individuals with a university degree or higher had significantly higher TSOY-32 scores than those with primary education or lower (p=0.032). TSOY-32 scores were negatively correlated with age (p=0.001) and smoking amount (p=0.006) but positively correlated with monthly income (p=0.023).

Conclusion: Among individuals attending a Smoking Cessation Clinic, those who did not smoke even on a balcony/terrace had higher health literacy scores than smokers. Improving health literacy in society may serve as an important model for tobacco control by helping individuals reduce harm to themselves and others and supporting smoking cessation efforts.

Keywords: Smoking addiction, home smoking, health literacy, secondhand smoke

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Copyright and license

Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

How to cite

Aslan, C., & Acar, T. (2025). Evaluation of the relationship between smoking status at home and health literacy. Turkish Journal of Tobacco Control, 5(1), 23-36. https://tjtc.org/article/view/4