[From experimentation to habitual smoking. A three-year follow-up study of smoking behavior of adolescents].
Newer studies indicate that the decline in adolescent smoking observed in Norway in recent years has levelled off and that, in some groups, smoking seems to be increasing. The number of adolescents who experiment with tobacco has remained fairly constant. In this article we present findings from a prospective cohort study on the development of regular smoking among adolescents 13 to 16 years of age. The study started in 1990 with a representative sample of 13 year old adolescents (N = 1,195) in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Data from follow-up studies conducted in 1991, 1992 and 1993 are included. The results indicate that more than 60% of the adolescents had tried to smoke by the age of 15. For about half of those who tried, the experimentation marks the beginning of a smoking career that develops from occasional to regular smoking. By the age of 16, 28% of the girls and 16% of the boys had become daily smokers. Smoking status at age 13 is a strong predictor of regular smoking three years later. For this reason, early adolescence is a period of primary importance with respect to prevention of smoking.
Friestad
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HEMIL-senteret, Statens institutt for folkehelse, Oslo.
Klepp
K I
KI
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000639:trends; D016540:Smoking Cessation
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