Perception of cigarette smoking and advertisement among senior secondary school students in Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria.
BACKGROUND
Cigarette smoking among youths is increasingly a public health concern.


OBJECTIVE
This study sought to determine the prevalence of smoking among secondary school students and to assess their perception of smoking and cigarette advertisement.


METHODS
A cross sectional study was conducted among 1,223 senior secondary school students in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria.


RESULTS
The prevalence of smoking among this population was 41 (3.4%) with 115 (9.4%) reporting that they had ever smoked. Mean age of smoking initiation was 14.2 years. Smoking was greater among males than females and in higher secondary school classes. Only 700 (57%) of students knew that smoking was harmful to their health and 477 (39%) reported that they had been taught about the harmful effects of smoking in the school teaching programme. Twenty-six percent of students had an item with a cigarette brand name on it and 19% had been offered a free cigarette by a cigarette representative. One hundred and twenty-two (10%) of the students indicated that they will smoke when they leave school.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the prevalence of smoking among students was low, exposure to cigarette advertisements may encourage them to smoke.
Omokhodion
F O
FO
Department of Community Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. dhf.omokhodion@skannet.com
Faseru
B O
BO
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012938:Social Perception; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires