Tobacco use among Australin secondary students in 1996

OBJECTIVES: To estimate smoking prevalence among Australian secondary students in 1996 and to examine trends in smoking prevalence since 1984. METHOD: A randomly selected representative sample of 434 secondary schools from across Australia participated in the study. At each school 80 randomly selected students completed a pencil-and-paper questionnaire anonymously. Data from 29,850 students aged between 12 and 17 years are reported. RESULTS: Current smoking (smoking in the week before the survey) was 8% in boys and 7% in girls aged 12, and rose to a peak prevalence among 17 year olds of 28% for boys and 34% for girls. The mean number of cigarettes smoked per week among current smokers rose from 11 for boys and six for girls aged 12 to 37 for boys and 34 for girls aged 17. Comparisons across survey years showed that while fewer 12 to 15 year olds were current smokers in 1996 than in 1984, the proportion in 1996 was greater than that in 1987 or 1990. Among 16 and 17 year olds, the proportion of current smokers in 1996 was greater than that seen in 1987 or 1990. An aggregate measure of tobacco involvement suggested that involvement with tobacco had remained stable since 1993 among 12 to 15 year olds. CONCLUSION: The decline in adolescent smoking seen in the late 1980s has stopped. IMPLICATIONS: Extrapolating from this survey, we estimate that more than 276,000 12-17 year old students were current smokers in 1996. If they all continue to smoke, 138,000 would die prematurely.     

Characteristics of tobacco smoking in schools in Andorra]

1600 schoolchildren aged 13 to 18 answered an anonimus, self administered questionnaire, in a cross sectional study to estimate the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the high grades schools in Andorra. 46.6% answered they did smoke cigarettes, either daily (11.2%) or occasionally (35.4%). Ten per cent of actual smokers did already smoke at age 10, and 50% at age 13. More girls (48.8%) than boys (44.4%) smoked (p less than 0.05) but boys smoked a greater number of cigarettes (p less than 0.001). Ninety five percent smoked Virginia tobacco, and little more than 50% used filter tipped cigarettes. Two thirds of smokers inhaled the smoke of cigarettes; this was more common among daily smokers. Again two thirds of smokers answered they would be prepared to quit smoking. 31% of those who had tried smoking said they believed they would smoke in the future, while only 5.6% of those that never smoked previously said so (p less than 0.001). Actual smokers answered they believed that they would not smoke in the future much less often than non smokers. Parents let boys smoke more than girls when the children started doing so, particularly before age thirteen and after age fifteen. These are the first available data about the community studied describing some features of its cigarette smoking habit. Their knowledge may well help to plan disease protection and health promotion developments addressed to youngsters in Andorra.     

Changes in the use of tobacco among Australian secondary students: results of the 1999 prevalence study and comparisons with earlier years

OBJECTIVE: To estimate smoking prevalence among Australian secondary students in 1999 and to examine trends in smoking-related behaviours since 1984. METHOD: A randomly selected representative sample of 399 secondary schools from across Australia participated in the study. At each school, up to 80 randomly selected students completed a pencil-and-paper questionnaire anonymously. Data from 25,486 students aged between 12 and 17 years are reported. RESULTS: Current smoking (smoking in the week before the survey) was 6% in boys and girls aged 12, and rose to a peak prevalence among 17-year-olds of 33% for boys and 30% for girls. Comparisons across survey years showed that while fewer 12-to-15-year-olds were current smokers in 1999 than in 1996, among 16- and 17-year-olds, the proportion of current smokers in 1999 and 1996 was similar. Students who smoked were less likely to buy their cigarettes in 1999 than in previous surveys. Both older and younger secondary students were more likely to have received lessons about tobacco in the school year prior to the 1999 survey than were students in the 1996 survey. CONCLUSION: The rise in the prevalence of smoking among younger secondary students seen in the 1990s seems to have stopped and smoking prevalence has declined. Implications: Extrapolating from this survey, we estimate that nearly 269,000 12-to-17-year-old students were current smokers in 1999. If they all continue to smoke, 134,000 would die prematurely.     

武汉市私立学校中学生吸烟状况的初步分析

目的　了解私立学校中学生的吸烟状况 ,为加强青少年吸烟行为的干预措施提供依据。方法　以美国南加州大学提供的“青少年控烟项目调查问卷”为基础 ,对武汉市 8所私立学校 1 30 7名中学生进行问卷调查。以尝试吸烟率、吸过一整支烟的吸烟率、过去 30d吸烟率、吸过 1 0 0支烟吸烟率描述学生的吸烟行为。结果　中学生的初始吸烟年龄平均为 1 1 .2岁 ;尝试吸烟率为 54 .0 % ,吸过 1整支烟的比例为 2 2 .0 % ,过去 30d内吸烟率为 1 9.4 % ,吸烟 >1 0 0支的学生占 4 .4 % ;吸烟情况分析中 ,54 .1 %的学生是在好奇的情况下抽烟 ;吸烟来源中 ,46 .0 %的学生报告香烟是从朋友或同学那里得到的。结论　私立学校中学生的吸烟状况严重 ,加强对吸烟行为的早期预防教育和干预控制刻不容缓     

Substance use by indigenous and non-indigenous primary school students

OBJECTIVE: Recent Australian research with adolescents aged 13 to 17 years has found that Indigenous youth are more likely than non-Indigenous adolescents to smoke tobacco and cannabis, although they may be less likely to use alcohol. The objective of this study was to examine whether this pattern exists among younger children. METHOD: A school-based, self-report survey was conducted in primary schools that had high proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Four schools were located in metropolitan Brisbane and three in Far North Queensland (sample n = 507 students: 270 girls, 237 boys, aged 9-13 years). RESULTS: Significant numbers of these children had started to experiment with recreational drugs. Twenty-two per cent had attempted to smoke at least one cigarette, 14% smoked in the preceding year, while 3% had smoked more than 10 cigarettes in their lives. Thirty-eight per cent had had at least one drink of alcohol, while 6% had smoked marijuana at least once. There was no significant association between Indigenous/non-Indigenous background and risk of smoking tobacco or marijuana, while Indigenous children were less likely than non-Indigenous children to report experience with alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to data from secondary school students, Indigenous youth in primary schools were not more likely than non-Indigenous children to have experimented with tobacco or marijuana, or to be frequent tobacco smokers. It appears therefore that the excessive uptake of drug use among Indigenous youth occurs in the early stages of secondary school. This finding underlines the importance of preventive education in primary schools, especially for Indigenous children who have a high risk of making the transition to drug use in adolescence.     

Behavioral aspects of cigarette smoking among industrial college men of Shanghai, China.

A questionnaire survey was conducted among 7,665 students and staff in the factory-operated industrial colleges in Shanghai, China. Response rate was 95.7 per cent. The proportion of smokers among the men was 50.5 per cent; only 0.33 per cent of the women reported they were smokers. Male smokers began smoking upon entering the work force, where social interaction encourages cigarette smoking. Seventy per cent of the male smokers smoked fewer than 10 cigarettes per day. Only 4.3 per cent perceived themselves as very addicted; 3.4 per cent reported they had no confidence in their ability to control the amount they smoke. The Chinese smokers are more likely to succeed in giving up cigarette smoking for at least one day, as well as for longer periods, compared to US smokers. The number of cigarettes smoked may be related to the individual's purchasing power. For China, strategic timeliness in legislative action and education is urgently needed to combat the high prevalence of cigarette smoking in males, at extremely high risk.     

Development trends of first cigarette smoking experience of children: the Bogalusa heart study.

During one school year a health habits survey investigated cigarette smoking behavior in a total biracial population of children, ages 8 to 17 years old. Information was collected concerning each child's first smoking experience. Over 60 per cent of the children reported they were given their first cigarettes. Half of those starting before age 12 smoked their first cigarettes with a family member or an older fried. The smoking habit appears to have become established by age 14, with a two-year gap between initiation and maintenance.     

Evidence for compensation in smokers of low yield cigarettes

To determine the relation of smoking low yield cigarettes (tar yield less than 15.0 mg and nicotine yield less than 1.0 mg per cigarette) to the number of cigarettes smoked per day, we analysed information provided on self-administered questionnaires by 7706 current, regular cigarette smokers. The mean age at starting to smoke and the mean number of years of smoking were not consistently different in smokers of low yield compared with smokers of high yield cigarettes. In contrast, at all ages in both men and women, smokers of low yield cigarettes smoked significantly more cigarettes per day than smokers of high yield cigarettes. The differences in the number of cigarettes smoked per day between smokers of low and high yield cigarettes were small--about 3 cigarettes per day in men and about 1 1/2 cigarettes per day in women. However, these small differences might translate to the smoking of as many as one billion more packs of cigarettes per year in the United States alone. The potential beneficial effect of the smoking of cigarettes whose yield per cigarette is lower must be weighed against a possible adverse effect of the smoking of more cigarettes if the relation between smoking low yield cigarettes and smoking more cigarettes is causal.     

SMOKING PREVALENCE,INTENTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE OF HEALTH RISK. RESULTS FROM A NEW SOUTH WALES SCHOOL SURVEY

Data from a 1983 survey of 4265 school students are presented. Girls smoked more than boys in all but one age group; 45 per cent of current smokers stated they did not intend stopping; 12 per cent of non-smokers believed that they would take it up; 67.5 per cent of students overestimated the number of people who smoke; and only 7.8 per cent of students correctly rated tobacco as the drug that causes the greatest number of deaths from a list of different recreational drugs. A case is argued for health education efforts which place greater emphasis on the health consequences of smoking than is currently fashionable in many health education efforts.     

高中生吸烟行为特征及与其他危险行为关系分析

目的了解蚌埠市高中生的吸烟特征,为制定有效的干预措施提供科学依据。方法采取分层随机整群抽样,在蚌埠市区12所中学高中班中随机抽取11所中学22个班的全体学生进行问卷调查。结果3 131名高中生中,有800名高中生曾经吸过一整支烟,曾经吸烟率为25.6%,男生高于女生,其中,35.8%的学生吸一整支烟时的年龄<13岁,15~16岁是青少年尝试吸烟的高发年龄。8.9%的高中生曾有过经常性吸烟行为。在调查前30 d,4.6%的学生在学校吸烟,男生高于女生;4.9%的学生平均每天吸烟≥2支,男生高于女生;获得香烟的方式以在商店买烟为主,占50.5%。多因素logistic回归分析表明:最近12个月打架,厌学情绪、最近30 d饮酒、谈恋爱、性行为、最近7 d上网吧、参加校内运动队、性别对高中生吸烟影响最大。结论应及早对青少年进行控制吸烟的健康教育,使他们认识到吸烟的危害,自觉抵制烟草。同时对其他相关危险行为进行干预,以发挥干预措施的综合效应,提高控烟效果。     

广州市城乡结合部初中生吸烟行为特点的调查

目的:了解城乡结合部青少年吸烟行为的特点。方法:用自填式调查表对6所中学3 956名初中生进行流行病学调查。结果:初中生的尝试吸烟率为20.4%(男30.4%,女8.9%),不规律吸烟率14.7%(男21%,女7.7%),规律吸烟率5.7%(男9.4%,女1.2%)。吸烟率在不同性别和年级间存在差异,不同生源地的初中生吸烟率也有所区别。大部分尝试吸烟行为发生于10~14岁,初吸烟年龄中位数为12岁。吸第一支烟最主要的原因是“好奇尝试(70.3%),最主要的影响人是同伴(46.3%)。73%的规律吸烟者在过去1个月吸过烟,27%的只吸了1~5天。现在吸烟者的日均吸烟量平均值为5.12支,中位数为3支。46.6%的吸烟者只将烟雾吸入口腔。获得香烟的主要方式是别人给的,吸烟主要发生于伙伴聚会时。59%的规律吸烟者曾经戒过烟,主要是由于健康的缘故,戒烟成功率为28.8%。48.9%的现在吸烟者表明目前有戒烟的打算。结论:城乡结合部已成为烟草流行的重灾区,此趋势在青少年已有所表现。青少年控烟工作要联合政府、社会、家庭和学校等方多力量,结合其心理特征开展诸如同伴教育、提供戒烟辅助等有效措施。     

Peers, schools, and adolescent cigarette smoking.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of popularity, best friend smoking, and cigarette smoking within the peer networks on current smoking of seventh- through 12th-grade students. These factors were examined for adolescents attending schools with varying rates of student cigarette smoking. METHODS: This study used data from the saturated school sample of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative school-based sample. The sample for the present study was 2525 adolescents in Grades 7-12 who completed an in-school questionnaire and an in-home interview. Information from the in-school questionnaire was used to construct measures of school smoking prevalence and popularity. Using peer nominations from the in-home interview, best friend smoking, and peer network smoking exposure were constructed using the peers' own reports of their cigarette smoking. Multiple regression techniques were used to estimate the risk of current cigarette smoking as a function of popularity, best friend smoking, peer network smoking, and school smoking prevalence, and all first-order interactions between measures of peer and school smoking prevalence. RESULTS: Adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, parent education, school, and availability of cigarettes in the home, the risk of current smoking was significantly associated with peer networks in which at least half of the members smoked [odds ratio (OR) = 1.91], one or two best friends smoked (OR = 2.00), and with increasing rates of school smoking prevalence (OR = 1.73). In addition, there was a significant interaction of popularity and school smoking prevalence such that risk of current smoking was somewhat greater among popular students in schools with high smoking prevalence than among popular students in schools with low smoking prevalence. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that school environments are important contexts for understanding peer group influences on adolescent cigarette smoking.     

Cigarette smoking among Beijing (Peking) high schoolers

Students smoking at 2 key middle schools and 6 ordinary middle schools in Beijing, China were surveyed to determine the form in which high schoolers start smoking, and how long they have smoked. The patterns and causes of smoking were analyzed. The investigation was made from March to May 1981. 430 boys and 423 girls were selected from key schools and 1396 boys and 1394 girls from ordinary schools. Ages ranged from 13-17. All subjects completed a questionnaire in the classroom. To increase the reliability of the survey, names were kept secret. The students surveyed were classified into groups according to their smoking status: current regular smokers; occasional smokers; ex-smokers; and nonsmokers. In the key schools, there were only 4 smokers among 430 students, accounting for 0.9% of the total. Of these, 1 was Senior Class 2, 2 Senior Class 1, and 1 Junior Class 3. In the ordinary schools, 10% were smokers. 19.7% of the boys and 0.4% of the girls smoked. Among the boys, the higher the class, the more numerous the smokers. The smoking rate was 8.2% in the 1st year of junior high but rose to 34% in senior class 2; the difference was statistically significant. "Special occasion" smokers were few, only 5.5% of the students. In junior class, the number of regular smokers was about 2/3 to 4/5 that of occasional smokers. And by senior class 2 the number of regular smokers had risen to about 3 times that of the occasional smokers. In every grade, there were students who had given up smoking. Most had been occasional smokers. Some high schoolers had started to smoke in primary school and had a 4-5 year history of smoking, but most had only picked up smoking for 1-2 years after announcement of the Rules for High School Students prohibiting smoking. There were 3 smoking patterns: smoking without inhaling; inhaling the smoke deeply into the lungs, then expiring through the mouth or nostrils; and combining patterns 1 and 2. Of 265 students, 128 used the 1st pattern, 121 the second, and only 16 combined both patterns. The most common cause of smoking was curiosity. Next was lack of high ideals and dedication followed by boredom. The smoking rate in students whose parents were smokers was significantly higher than in those whose parents were nonsmokers. The difference was significant among all classes except junior class 1. To reduce smoking among high school students, it is necessary to go beyond the existing rules which prohibit smoking and emphasize political and ideologic education. Students must be taught about the dangers of smoking as early as possible, preferably in primary schools.     

Initiation of cigarette smoking and subsequent smoking behavior among U.S. high school students

BACKGROUND: Most adult smokers report trying their first cigarette before age 18 years. Understanding the impact of smoking initiation at young ages may help public health policy makers and practitioners improve strategies to prevent or delay adolescent cigarette smoking. METHODS: This paper examined age of initiation of cigarette smoking and subsequent patterns of smoking among U.S. high school students 16 years of age and older (N = 13,858). We used data from the 1991-1997 national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: The majority of students 16 years of age and older (60.4%) reported ever having smoked a whole cigarette, and 11.1% initiated smoking at age 10 years or younger. Age of smoking initiation was significantly related to current frequent smoking, daily smoking, and whether students had ever smoked daily. A younger age of smoking initiation was associated with smoking more cigarettes per day than was initiating at an older age. CONCLUSIONS: Delaying the onset of smoking may affect the likelihood of becoming addicted to nicotine and smoking heavily. For students who are already addicted to nicotine, smoking cessation programs are needed.     

Spontaneous cigarette brand switching: consequences for nicotine and carbon monoxide exposure.

A group of smokers who had participated in smoking-related studies three to six years earlier were re-studied to assess changes in their smoking practices. Individuals who smoked the same brands of cigarettes showed no change in plasma cotinine (reflecting exposure to nicotine) or expired carbon monoxide (CO) concentration. Those who switched to cigarettes of lower nicotine yield (average decrease 38 per cent) showed reduced plasma cotinine concentrations, due primarily to smoking fewer cigarettes per day. The intake of nicotine per cigarette was not different. Subjects who smoked cigarettes of higher yield (102 per cent increase) had higher cotinine and CO levels, due to greater intake per cigarette.     

Depressive mood, the single-parent home, and adolescent cigarette smoking.

The association between depressive mood and cigarette smoking among adolescents was examined within a multivariate model. Subjects were 205 eleventh graders (123 boys and 82 girls) enrolled in a Northeast metropolitan public high school for science-oriented students. Logistic regression analysis showed an independent relation of depressive mood, friends' smoking behavior, and living in a single-parent home with cigarette smoking. Depression scores correlated with the number of cigarettes smoked. These associations suggest that depressive mood and stress may contribute to the onset of smoking.     

北京市高中生吸烟行为现状及家庭因素与吸烟关联的性别差异研究

目的 了解北京市高中生吸烟行为及家庭因素与吸烟关联的性别差异,为相关干预提供理论依据.方法 于2014年4-5月,采取分层整群随机抽样的方法,对北京市16669名高中生进行问卷调查.分性别采用x2检验和多因素Logistic回归法分析家庭因素与吸烟行为的关联.结果 北京市高中男女生尝试吸烟率分别为40.7％和20.6％...     

A survey of cigarette smoking among middle school students in 1988

A survey of the prevalence of smoking in middle school students aged 13-21 years in Harbin city, China, was undertaken in the Spring of 1988. A random sample of 4712 students was selected using proportional stratified clustering. A self-administered confidential questionnaire relating to smoking habits and certain family and school factors was administered. The results showed that 1.29% of the students (2.21% boys and 0.38% girls) smoked regularly, 5.62% (10.52% boys and 0.76% girls) were light smokers and 13.77% (24.29% boys and 2.92% girls) smoked only occasionally. Smoking habits were related to the type of school and to age, there being a higher proportion of smoking in senior grade students. Students were significantly more likely to smoke if they were male and if their siblings smoked. Prevalence of regular smoking was not related to parental occupation or family income. It is suggested that anti-smoking education in the school curriculum should be directed towards students in middle school.     

Density of tobacco retail outlets near schools and smoking behaviour among secondary school students

Objective: To investigate whether the density of tobacco retail outlets near schools in Victoria, Australia, is associated with adolescent smoking behaviour. Methods: Cross‐sectional survey data of 2,044 secondary school students aged 12–17 years was combined with tobacco outlet audit data. Associations between students' self‐reported tobacco use and the density of tobacco outlets near schools was examined using multilevel logistic and negative binomial regression models, with cigarette price at local milk bars and key socio‐demographic and school‐related variables included as covariates. Results: Increased tobacco retail outlet density was associated with a significant increase in the number of cigarettes smoked in the previous seven days among students who smoked in the past month (IRR=1.13; 95% CI 1.02–1.26), but not the odds of smoking in the past month in the larger sample (OR=1.06; 95% CI 0.90–1.24), after controlling for local mean price of cigarettes and socio‐demographic and school‐related variables. Conclusions and implications: This study suggests there is a positive association between tobacco retail outlet density and cigarette consumption among adolescent smokers, but not smoking prevalence, in the Australian context. There is value in considering policy measures that restrict the supply of tobacco retail outlets in school neighbourhoods as a means of reducing youth cigarette consumption.     

Smoking and its associated factors in Portuguese adolescent students

OBJECTIVE: To describe smoking habits and to identify their determinants in adolescent students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on smoking habits comprising 1,052 girls and 984 boys aged 13 years attending public and private schools in the city of Porto, Portugal. The proportion of participation was 77.5%. Information on sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics was obtained from a questionnaire filled out at home by participants and their parents. At school, another self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information about tobacco use. Several independent samples were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis test and proportions were compared by Chi-square test. Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by unconditional logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall, 19.9% (22.4% of girls and 17.1% of boys) students only had ever experimented smoking but were not smokers; 1.8% (2.0% of girls and 1.5% of boys) were occasional smokers and 1.3% (2.0% of girls and 0.4% of boys) smoked at least one cigarette/day. Curiosity was the main reason given by adolescents to experiment smoking (48.4% of girls and 45.6% of boys). After adjustment to parental, siblings' and friends' smoking habits, the stronger association was with the smoking habits of their friends for both girls (OR=4.03; 95% CI: 2.69-6.04) and boys (OR=5.39; 95% CI: 3.34-8.70). CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of students had ever experimented smoking. Smoking habits among peers proved to be the strongest determinant of smoking during adolescence.