title: Smoking among secondary-school boys in Bahrain: prevalence and risk factors.
abstract: To determine the prevalence of smoking among male secondary school students in Bahrain and to identify their risk factors for smoking, we surveyed a random sample of students by questionnaire. The prevalence of smoking was 26.6%, 25.5% and 25.4% among first-year, second-year and third-year students respectively. Cigarettes (21.0%), water-pipes (13.0%) and cigars (1.6%) were popular. Smokers and non-smokers had similar socioeconomic profiles, but differed in degree of disapproval of smoking shown by close contacts and whether close contacts were smokers. The prevalence of smoking among male secondary-school students in Bahrain did not decline despite intense anti-smoking efforts in the last decade, perhaps indicating the effectiveness of tobacco advertising and promotions that target youth.
authors.affiliation: Gulf Air Medical Services, Gulf Air, Al-Muharraq, Bahrain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Al-Haddad
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Hamadeh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000329:Advertising; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001445:Bahrain; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D033062:Friends; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D010379:Peer Group; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires