title: Determinants of smoking experimentation and initiation among adolescent students in the city of Salvador, Brazil.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the factors associated with smoking experimentation and initiation among adolescent students (11-14 years of age).
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional, population-based study involving adolescent (middle and high school) students at public and private schools in the city of Salvador, Brazil. A multiple-stage sampling protocol was used. The participants completed an anonymous, voluntary, self-report questionnaire. The dependent variables were age at smoking experimentation and smoking initiation. Sociodemographic and educational variables, as well as those related to media influence and alcohol consumption, were considered independent variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed, followed by analysis of the fit of the final logistic regression model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of smoking experimentation was 16.1% (95% CI: 15.1-17.2). Of the 5,347 students evaluated, 757 had experimented with cigarettes, and 462 (61.2%) of those 757 had done so before the age of 15 (mean age at smoking experimentation, 13.9 ± 1.8 years). Smoking initiation was associated with paternal smoking (OR = 1.53; 83% CI = 1.07-2.19) and with media influence (OR = 2.43; 83% CI: 1.46-4.04). Smoking experimentation was associated with alcohol consumption (OR = 6.04; 83% CI: 4.62-7.88), having friends who smoke (OR = 3.18; 83% CI: 2.54-3.99), having a boyfriend/girlfriend who smokes (OR = 3.42; 83% CI: 1.78-6.56), and coercive/aggressive educational interventions by the parents (OR = 1.60; 83% CI: 1.26-2.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alcohol consumption and the influence of peers and relatives who smoke showed a strong association with smoking experimentation. Paternal smoking and media influence were found to increase the chances of adolescent smoking.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brasil.
authors.forename: Adelmo de Souza
authors.initials: Ade S
authors.lastname: Machado Neto
authors.forename: Tarcisio Matos
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Napoli
authors.forename: Lilian Carine Souza de Lima
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Abdon
authors.forename: Mônica Rocha
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Francisco Inácio
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Bastos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data