Smoking among high school students.
BACKGROUND
There are no recent data on smoking habits of high-school students in Greece. The primary objective of the study was to determine these epidemiological factors.


METHODS
The smoking habits of 927 high-school students (471 boys and 456 girls), aged between 15-18 years, in four regions of a Greek area (the island of Cos), were examined. Study data were collected using a questionnaire.


RESULTS
It was found that 32.48% of boys and 27.19% of girls are smokers; 43.3% had started smoking before the age of 14. The mean age for starting smoking was 14.4 +/- 1.9 years for the boys and 14.9 +/- 1.6 years for the girls. As many as 22.8% of the students smoke 6 to 10 cigarettes per day and 21.5% 16 to 20 cigarettes per day; 40.2% reported that they smoke out of spite. Students reported that their parents are aware that their offspring smoke in a proportion of 36.7%. Social standards and parental example were found to be the main determinants for starting smoking. The majority of the students (95.2%) stated that they are aware of the hazards associated with smoking.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings highlight the need for smoking control interventions aimed at young people. Smoking is a major, yet preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. For these reasons, we view that adolescents should be targeted with a well-planned integrated anti-smoking policy and not just an initiative for raising awareness of smoking hazards.
Heras
Panagiotis
P
Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Cos, Cos, Greece. panheras@yahoo.com
Kritikos
Konstantinos
K
Hatzopoulos
Antonios
A
Kritikos
Nikolaos
N
Mitsibounas
Dimitrios
D
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data