Substance use profile of a group of professional football players before and after quitting football

In this study, the prevalence of substance-use among professional football players quitted football is examined. Within the period of playing football, smoking, alcohol and other substance use evaluation is determined by researching the substance-use profiles. The substance-use is evaluated ambidextrously, before and after quitting football. The aim of this study is determining the demographic components of substance-use behaviors before and after quitting football by retrospective analysis. The reason that this study is done with players quitted football is that it is thought active football players do not answer substance-use related questions correctly due to professional concerns. The univers of this study is chosen from professional football players quitted football and living in İzmir. The sample of the survey is comprised by a group of football players who live in İzmir province, is in the range of 25-65 years old, played for at least 5 years and quitted football. All samples are male. 238 volunteers, who were chosen without a statistical method, are conducted survey. It is found that the professional footballers who constitute the subject of the study have substance-use habbits before and after quitting football. As a consequence, it is determined that football players have harmful habbits like alcohol and cigarettes commonly and meet with these substances in their football environments. Key words; Professionalism; football player; substance-use