http://informahealthcare.com/jsu ISSN: 1465-9891 (print), 1475-9942 (electronic) J Subst Use, 2014; 19(5): 382–387 ! 2014 Informa UK Ltd. DOI: 10.3109/14659891.2013.833654 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Translation, reliability and validity of Iranian version of the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (SCQ) among smokers I. Mohammadi Zeidi 1 , Mohsen Saffari 2 , Hui Chen 3 , and Amir H. Pakpour 1,4 1 Public Health Department, Qazvin University of Medical Science, Qazvin, Iran, 2 Department of Health Education, School of Health, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, 3 School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, Faculty of Science, Centre for Health Technology, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia, and 4 Qazvin Research Center for Social Determinants of Health, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran Abstract Background: Smoking poses varions adverse effects on human health. Unfortunately, there is still a large population of smokers worldwide. Well understanding the potential consequences of smoking by the general public may prevent the initiation of smoking behavior and help the smokers to quit. Aims: The aim of this study was to cross-culturally translate and validate the Persian version of Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (SCQ). Design and methods: The backward–forward translation technique was used to setup the scales among 40 smokers. Using a convenient sampling method, 400 smokers were recruited from a smoking cessation department in Qazvin city. Internal consistency and test–retest method was used to assess reliability. Cronbach’s Alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) were used to assess Internal Consistency and Test–retest reliability. Predictive validity of Nicotine Dependence was measured by correlation between SCQ and Fagerstrom Test. The scale construction was verified by Factor Analysis (explanatory and confirmatory). Data are expressed as mean  SD, which were analyzed by SPSS. Results: The average age of participants was 40  0.6 (376 male, 24 female). More than half of the participants smoked between 11 and 20 cigarettes per day. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients test showed an acceptable internal consistency (ranged from 0.70 to 0.93). All items of the SCQ were significantly correlated with each other at two assessments with 2-week interval (r ranged from 0.76 to 0.93). The ICC ranged from 0.73 to 0.89 for all factors (p50.05). The scale well fitted the data (GFI ¼ 0.97, RMSEA ¼ 0.064). There were 10 factors on the scale which explained 78% of the variance. Conclusion: Our results suggest that Persian SCQ is a valid and reliable application among Iranian smokers. The scales can nicely recognize the smokers’ views on health consequences across different languages and cultures, which is highly recommended in general public education. Keywords Adverse health consequences, reliability, smoking consequences questionnaire, validity History Received 5 May 2013 Accepted 24 July 2013 Published online 13 September 2013 Background Tobacco smoking is considered as a preventable cause of premature mortality (Tomar, 2001). Although the smoking rate is decreasing worldwide, more than two-third of current deaths due to smoking related diseases occur in developing countries. It has been estimated that this is more than those from HIV infection, tuberculosis and related complications (Burgan, 2003; Warnakulasuriya et al., 2005). The number of deaths from smoking related disorders will reach 10 million by 2020, and by the year 2030 70% of annual deaths from smoking related disorders worldwide will occur in developing countries (Bawazeer et al., 1999; Gu et al., 2004). The prevalence of smoking among Iranian men and women is 26% and 3.6%, respectively (Ahmadi et al., 2001). Despite the adverse health consequences of smoking, a lot of people still refuse to quit. It is well known that quitting smoking will bring in numerous health benefits, such as reduced risk and mortality of cardiovascular disorders (Panagiotakos et al., 2002; Tavani et al., 2004). Relapse after quitting are common, due to the strong abdicative effect of nicotine. There are also some social benefit among smokers that prevent them from quitting, include reduced irritability, relaxation, a sense of control, better sensory stimuli and improved group relation- ships and intimacy (Hine et al., 2007; McChargue et al., 2004; Patterson et al., 2004). The long term smokers are usually not convinced by the long-term benefits of quitting smoking Correspondence: Amir H. Pakpour, Department of Public Health, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran. Tel: +98 9193144371. Fax: +98 281 3345862. E-mail: pakpour_amir@ yahoo.com