The effect of health literacy levels on successful of smoking cessation therapy: A survey study

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of the health literacy levels of patients given smoking cessation treatment on the success of smoking cessation treatment. Methods: In this study, 152 participants between the ages of 18-70 applied to a tertiary hospital smoking cessation outpatient clinic. The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence was used to determine the level of cigarette addiction of the participants, and the European Health Literacy Scale was used to evaluate the levels of health literacy. Results: When the health literacy levels of the participants with cigarette addiction were evaluated, 38 (25%) were inadequate, 64 (42.1%) were problematic. When the participants' smoking cessation status and general health literacy levels were compared, it was found to be statistically significant. It was determined that as the health literacy level increased, the success rates of individuals increased in smoking cessation therapy. Conclusions: We have shown that increasing the level of health literacy is effective in increasing the success of smoking cessation treatment. Increasing health literacy should be part of the fight against smoking. This effect should be demonstrated by future studies on large populations. © 2021, Eurasian Society of Family Medicine. All rights reserved.