OBJECTIVES: Tobacco use continues to be a leading preventable cause of death and disability worldwide. This study aims to explore the impact of religion, culture and familial influence of smoking among young, educated people in Kurdistan region / Iraq.

METHODS: A survey was designed to target educated individuals residing in Kurdistan region with age range of 17-30. Education (above high school diploma) was a condition in order to reach people with higher social status. Simple descriptive analysis was preformed, exploring the distribution of smoking status (current smokers, past smokers and those who have never smoked) across the following variables: gender, religion and familial influence. In addition, we analyzed how the respondents perceive the social acceptance of male and female smokers.

RESULTS: 471 surveys were completed. 76% of the female respondents have never smoked, 20% of them are past smokers while 4% are current smokers. 51% of the male respondents have never smoked, 11% of them are past smokers while 38% are current smokers. The percentage of those who have never smoked was higher among those who considered the religion very important (69%) or who considered quite important (65%) compared to those who considered religion not important (38%). Similarly, the percentage of those who have never smoked was higher among those who had family without smokers (70%) compared to those who had at least one sibling as smoker (57%) or those who had one parent as smoker (58%). According to the respondents 81% of them thought it is acceptable for males to smoke while it was only 39% for females.

CONCLUSIONS: There is large difference in current smokers between males and females, probably mainly due to social acceptance males smokers more rather than female smokers. Religion and familial influence seems to have important an impact on smoking habits.