Assessment of the Knowledge of Thirdhand Smoke Awareness in Turkey: A Call to Action for Family Physicians

Objective Thirdhand smoke (THS) refers to contaminants in cigarette smoke that contaminate surfaces and continue to be released for a long time. THS adversely affects human health. In this study, we aimed to investigate the level of knowledge and awareness of THS among individuals who applied to a family medicine unit in Turkey. Method This cross-sectional study included individuals over the age of 18 who were registered with a family medicine unit between October and December 2023. The questionnaire, which was created via Google Forms, asked individuals to provide demographic information and complete questions from the Beliefs About Third-Hand Smoking (BATHS-T) scale. The questionnaire was read to the individuals face-to-face by a clinician. Some individuals were asked to complete the questionnaire themselves in the virtual environment by reading the generated QR code. Results A total of 1025 participants were included in the study; the mean age was 34.24 ± 11.18 years, 74.24% (n = 761) were female, 79.22% (n = 812) were married, and 19.61% (n = 201) had chronic diseases. A total of 27.51% (n = 282) of the participants were smokers. Only 14,82% (n = 152) of the participants had information about thirdhand smoke. Those over 35 years of age had significantly lower total BATHS-T scores than did those aged 35 years and younger (p = 0.001). The total BATHS-T score of women was significantly greater than that of men (p < 0.001). The BATHS-T total score of those with chronic diseases was significantly lower than that of those without chronic diseases (p = 0,030). The BATHS-T total score of nonsmokers was significantly higher than that of smokers, those who had information about third-hand smoke were significantly higher than those who did not, and those who cared about the presence of cigarette smoke when buying a car or staying in a hotel room were significantly higher than those who did not (p < 0,001). Conclusion In this study, THS awareness levels were found to be quite low. Family physicians who have a preventive medicine mission have a great duty to increase this awareness.