Background:
Past research has shown that smoking rates may be high among university students. Therefore, it is important to evaluate smoking and associated factors in a university setting, to plan smoking prevention programmes and tobacco control policies.

Objectives:
We sought to evaluate smoking rates and associated factors among foreign university students at Firat University.

Methods:
We conducted a cross-sectional study and data were gathered through a structured questionnaire applied in the classroom. A convenience-weighted sample among foreign students was obtained since it was not possible to access students’ data to plan a random sample. We performed a descriptive and inferential analysis using chi-squared tests and binary logistic regression.

Results:
Participants were 337 students, 17% females, with mean age 24 years. All students were originally from African and Middle East countries. The general smoking rate was 36.5%, 32.8% among females and 37.3% among males (p=0.55). Sub-Saharan African students reported the lowest smoking rates, in both sexes (p<0.05). Although women from Sub-Saharan African countries were less likely to smoke than men (12.5% versus 29.3%, respectively), differences were not statistically significant (p=0.094). Logistic regression showed that Muslim students (AOR=0.06; 95% CI: 0.03–0.12; p<0.001) and Sub-Saharan African students (AOR=0.11; 95% CI: 0.06–0.21; p<0.001) were less likely to smoke.

Conclusions:
There is a need for implementing smoking prevention and tobacco control policies at Firat University. These programs should take into account cultural and religious smoking norms and beliefs.