title: [Cigarette smoking and the risk of high-school students becoming dependent on nicotine].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Establishing cigarette smoking prevalence, the factors associated with it and the risk of nicotine dependence in adolescents attending school in Cartagena, Colombia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study of a probability sample of 1,152 adolescent students from public and private schools in Cartagena. Students anonymously and individually completed a questionnaire containing sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics. A descriptive analysis was then made of the variables investigated. All qualitative and quantitative variables were then dichotomised and odds ratios (OR) were estimated with 95 % confidence intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  1,014 students successfully completed the survey. Mean age was 15.1 years. 355 (35.0 %) students had experimented with cigarettes, 70 (6.9 %) reported smoking regularly and 18/70 (257 %) presented a high risk of nicotine dependence. The following variables were associated with smoking: being an elementary school student (4.08 OR; 2.27 to 7.35 95 %CI), being over 15 (3.71 OR; 2.85-7.44 95 %CI), having parents who smoked (2.47 OR; 1.42 to 4.31 95 %CI), being male (2.37 OR; 1.40 to 4.00 95 %CI) and having a brother or sister who smoked (2.21 OR; 1.16 to 4.21 95 %CI).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of smoking was low in high-school students from Cartagena. The frequency of smokers was higher amongst basic secondary education students, males older than fifteen and in whom the parents or brothers or sisters were smokers.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia. zcogollom@unicartagena.edu.co
authors.forename: Zuleima
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cogollo-Milanés
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de La Hoz-Restrepo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005192:Family Health; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012306:Risk; D012574:Schools; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult