BMC Public Health 2008, 8(Suppl 1):S4 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/S1/S4 Table 1: Prevalence of tobacco use and interest in stopping smoking among students aged 13 to 15 years by gender,Turkey Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 2003 Ever smoked cigarettes, even one or two puffs 26.3 (24.3-28.4) (n = 11,150) 31.7 (29.0-34.5) (n = 5,621) 19.7 (17.6-22.0) (n = 5,275) Ever smokers who initiated smoking before age 10 30.7 (28.0-33.4) (n = 2,677) 34.9 (32.4-37.4) (n = 1,637) 23.7 (19.5-28.5) (n = 942) Total Prevalence % (95% CI) Male Prevalence Current cigarette smokers Currently use of other tobacco products Current cigarette smokers who felt like having a cigarette first thing in the morning Never smokers likely to initiate smoking in the next year Cessation Current cigarette smokers who had tried to stop smoking during the past year Current smokers who had ever received help to stop smoking CI, confidence interval. Current cigarette smokers wanting to stop smoking 65.3 (60.4-69.9) (n = 410) 6.9 (6.1-7.9) (n = 10,949) 3.4 (3.0-3.9) (n = 11,290) 13.1 (9.6-17.6) (n = 347) 13.1 (9.6-17.6) (n = 347) 13.1 (9.6-17.6) (n = 347) 61.4 (55.7-66.8) (n = 439) 9.4 (8.2-10.9) (n = 5,520) 4.4 (3.8-5.1) (n = 5,731) 12.8 (9.0-17.8) (n = 229) 12.8 (9.0-17.8) (n = 229) 12.8 (9.0-17.8) (n = 229) 68.9 (63.0-74.3) (n = 295) 66.9 (60.5-72.7) (n = 316) 60.2 (50.6-69.1) (n = 88) 44.8 (31.9-58.4) (n = 90) Female 3.5 (2.9-4.3) (n = 5,188) 1.5 (1.1-1.9) (n = 5,285) 13.6 (7.2-24.3) (n = 86) 13.6 (7.2-24.3) (n = 86) 13.6 (7.2-24.3) (n = 86) 71.5 (67.0-75.5) (n = 622) 75.3 (71.3-79.0) (n = 436) 55.6 (44.5-66.2) (n = 147) Media and advertising exposure Over 3 in 10 (33.4%) students in Turkey reported that they saw advertisements for cigarettes on billboards during the month prior to the survey. Approximately 3 in 10 (27.9%) students reported that they saw advertisements for cigarettes in newspapers or magazines in the month prior to the survey. Boys (29.9%) were significantly more likely than girls (25.1%) to be exposed to pro-tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines. Approximately 1 in 10 (10.1%) students reported that they had an object (that is, hat, t-shirt, pen, backpack, and so on) with a cigarette brand logo on it. Boys (12.4%) were significantly more likely than girls (6.7%) to own such an object. Access and availability Almost half (46.5%) of current smokers reported that they “usually” bought their tobacco from a store (Table 2). Current smokers who usually bought their cigarettes from a store were asked if they had ever been refused purchase because of their young age: almost 9 in 10 (86.4%) repor- ted they had not been refused anytime. It is important that all study participants were 15 years old or younger (that is, minors) and, thus, should not have been allowed by law to purchase tobacco. Students were asked if they had been offered “free” cigar- ettes by a tobacco company representative at any time. Overall, 7.6% of students had been offered “free” cigar- ettes, with a significantly higher rate for boys (9.1% versus 5.6%). School curricula Students were asked if, during the past school year in classes, they had been taught about the dangers of tobacco, discussed the reasons why young people smoke, or if they had been taught about the effects of tobacco on their health. Half (52.8%) of the students reported that they had been taught about the dangers of tobacco; only 21.1% had discussed the reasons why young people use tobacco; and 40.1% had been taught about the effects of tobacco on their health (Table 2). Discussion Tobacco-related studies are quite common in Turkey, yet most are either small-scale or not representative of the entire population. Besides prevalence studies in different population sub-groups [14], there have been a number of studies on potential risk factors for smoking [12] and/or on assessment and monitoring of tobacco control studies in Turkey [15]. On the other hand, there is still a missing link between such evidence and tobacco-related policy making. It is important to base policy decisions on valid and reliable evidence from population-based, representative studies that are periodically repeated to enable policy makers to monitor the results of their interventions and to appropriately tailor anti-tobacco activities to future needs. The WHO FCTC calls for countries to use consistent methods and procedures in their surveillance efforts. The GYTS was designed for exactly this purpose (that is, stan- dardized sampling procedures, core questionnaire items, Page 4 of 7 (page number not for citation puroposes)