Background and Objective: Smoking and drug abuse are among the most important causes of mortality in both developing and developed countries. The aim of this study was to survey of eleventh grade student’s attitude, based on health belief model (HBM), toward smoking and its complications in Zahedan, Iran.

  Material and Methods : In this cross-sectional study, we selected 380 students through multi
stage clustered sampling. Data gathering was performed by using a valid and reliable researcher- made questionnaire designed on the basis of HBM.

  Results: The mean age of the subjects is 15.9 ± 7. The subjects experienced smoking at least once are 23.2% and regular smokers are 2.1% of them. The results of health belief constructs
are perceived susceptibility­ (74.8%), perceived severity­ (68.2%), perceived barriers­ (42.1%) and perceived benefits (72.1%). About cues to action construct, 61(16.1%) have at least one smoker in their family and 260(68.4%) mention that they have studied about smoking and its' disadvantages. The majority of them had high self- efficacy related to smoking temptation situations and its avoidance.

  Conclusion: The results show that most of the students have a favorite attitude toward smoking and its complication, based on health belief model. Hence, it is a necessity to maintain and reinforce this condition to prevent from smoking.

 Background and Objective: Substance abuse is a worldwide problem and converted to a big challenge for human society. The trend of this phenomenon is rapidly increasing in the world and our country . Because of quick change of substance abuse profile, a comprehensive assessment for exact identification of this phenomenon is needed. The present study was designed to evaluate the association between substance abuse route and age related factors in substance abuser.

 Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional study (2008), 120 subjects referred to the addiction clinic of Panje-Azar Hospital in Gorgan, Golestan University and medical sciences were selected via systemic random sampling. The data was gathered by a questionnaire and interview and analyzed by, using SPSS software, ANOVA and Tukey post hoc test (P<0.05).

 Results: The mean age of the subjects is 34.2±10.96, with the range of 16-66 years. The subjects are males (107 89.2%) and married (78 65%). The first Substance abuse of 87 (72.5%) is opium, which is the most commonly abused substance before withdrawal for 64.2% of the subjects. The main causes of the first use are having pleasure (38.8%), getting rid of psychological problem (23.3%) and being curios (23.3%). Sixty (50%) of them report that they first experienced it at home. The relation between age and route of substance abuse is statistically significant (P=0.025).

 Conclusion: According to rapid change in substance abuse profile and the characteristics of addicted people, periodically assessments are necessary for identifying this phenomenon and planning evidence based preventive plans.

Background and objective:­ In accordance with­ general studies, the prevalence of psychological disorders is increasing worldwide in that it is the cause of one percent of mortality  rate in the world esp. Iran. Because of susceptibility of women to psychological disorders and fewer studies in this field, this study aimed at evaluating ­mental health status of over- fifteen- year- old women in urban population of Gorgan, Iran. 

Material and Methods: In this study, 1088 women aged over 15 were selected by randomized cluster sampling. The data was collected by demographic data sheet and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and analyzed by Chi Square and Fisher Exact test.   

Results: Based on our findings, the prevalence of psychiatric disorders is 17.5%.­ ­Based on cut-off score of 6 for each of the four disorders, Anxiety disorder and insomnia are with the highest prevalence (5.5%) and depression is with the lowest (3.1%). The Prevalence of disorders has positive significant relationship with variables like age,­ ­marital status and family history of addiction.

Conclusion: The prevalence of present study is average compared to similar reports. Nevertheless it is a necessity to have further attention to the mental health of women and it is essential to train efficient workforce and provide appropriate facilities in order to give mental health services to both rural and urban population. 

Background and Objective: Nowadays, smoking is a widespread health problem in the world. Hookah smoking is common in many countries, especially in the Middle East and Africa. This study aimed to investigate the causes of hookah smoking in adolescents in Kurdkoy, 2013.

Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 266 teenagers selected via multi stage sampling. The questionnaires were distributed among  the  people who were present at the Coffeehouses and the results were reported by descriptive statistics.

Results: The results showed that 51.5% of the participants said they use Hookah every day. The reasons were pastime (56.4), unemployment (41.7), Pleasant feeling (33.8), being with friends (33.5), fatigue reduction (33.5) and the availability of hookah (32.3).

Conclusion: To minimize the tendency to Hookah smoking, we recommend planning some activities for leisure time, "learning to say no" and training how to reduce anxiety and fatigue.