title: Consumption of higher numbers of cigarettes in Mexican youth: the importance of social permissiveness of smoking.
abstract: This study sought to assess the relationship between level of cigarette smoking and social factors indicating permissiveness of smoking among youth. This was a school-based cross-sectional questionnaire study carried out in a random sample of students (n=13,293, 11-24 years) at public schools in Morelos, Mexico. Chi2 test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate correlates of level of smoking (> or < or = 5 cigarettes/day). There is a rising trend in smoking among Mexican in-school youth, a tendency towards smoking initiation at increasingly younger ages and a decrease in the gender gap regarding smoking. When young people smoked at home, at school and outside, they were over fives times as likely to smoke >5 cigarettes/day. Prevention of smoking among Mexican adolescents should emphasize smoke-free schools, no smoking policies in the community and parental anti-tobacco education.
authors.affiliation: University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Lucia Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Lotrean
authors.forename: Luisa Maria
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Zamorano
authors.forename: Raydel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Valdés-Salgado
authors.forename: Edna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arillo-Santillán
authors.forename: Betania
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernández-Avila
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lazcano-Ponce
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012931:Social Environment