Purpose: The purpose of this study was to find out what are the major motivations of middle and high school students to quit attempts and stay as non-smokers.
Method: Data was collected through focus group interviews with 3 groups(15 students), and was analyzed according to Morgan and Kruger(1998)’’s analytic method.
Results: We identified 6 categories of motivations for Smoking Cessation. They include perceptions of negative consequences of smoking on health, influences in significant others, being ashamed of oneself, drop of academic achievements, narrowness in interpersonal relationships, determining priorities for a student. Although ’’perceptions about negative health consequences’’ was one of the most significant motivation of smoking cessation for adolescents, participants did not know the seriousness of nicotine addiction. Moreover, their contents of motivations were different from those of adults such as responsibility for their family, decreasing curiosity about smoking and test of self willingness. Also most of them were extrinsic motivations and related to their highly competitive school life.
Conclusion: To conclude, considering the results of our analysis, smoking cessation programs should be carefully developed to more effectively help adolescents quit and stay away from smoking.
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