Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Depiction of Health 2008-9058 12 4 2021 12 22 Etiology of Smoking Tendency: A Qualitative Examination of the Experiences of Young Smokers 404 416 10.34172/doh.2021.38 EN Youssef Habibi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2082-3755 Atousa Kalantar Hormozi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1200-4933 Qiumars Farahbakhsh https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9693-8153 Hossein Salimibajestani https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4986-2555 Mohammad Asgari https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0226-175X Journal Article 10.34172/doh.2021.38 2021 08 01 2021 09 29 Background and Objectives Cigarette smoking has challenged the security and social context of youth, health and public health. On the other hand, the negligent view of smoking has pushed the society more towards the normalization of smoking and the youth are attracted to it more and more every day. The aim of this research was to study the etiology of the tendency to smoke by looking at the life experiences of young smokers. Material and Methods This qualitative study was conducted in Tehran in 2020, using a phenomenological method and semi-structured interviews with 14 young people aged 20 to 35 years who were smoking daily and continuously. Participants were selected using purposive sampling method. Sampling continued until the saturation stage and then the collected data were analyzed by coding method. Results Analyzing the participants' experiences led to the identification of 113 primary codes, 19 sub-categories, 8 subclasses and finally 2 main categories. The subclasses included cognitive falsification of the effects of smoking, smoking to reduce psychological problems, smoking to compensate for the feeling of inferiority, desire to smoke when in low spirits, feeling different when smoking, desire to smoke in response to art-induced emotions, easy access to cigarettes and the adverse effect of negative advertising. The main classes consisted of intrapersonal, extrapersonal interpersonal components of the endency to smoke in youth. Conclusion Examining the lived experiences of young people in smoking causes a deeper understanding of the components of smoking and consequently leads to a better and faster understanding of other young people of these experiences.