title: [Changes in smoking prevalence among adolescents in Spain].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyse information on adolescent use of tobacco in Spain from different school surveys.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data on daily smoking prevalence by sex at the end of compulsory education is extracted and figures are compared, analysing trends.
  
  
  METHODS
  The five representative studies on adolescents in Spain are reviewed: The National Survey on Drug Use in Secondary School Children (Encuesta estatal sobre uso de drogas en estudiantes de secundaria (ESTUDES); Survey of Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC-ECERS); Surveillance System of Risk Factors Associated With Non-Transmittable diseases in the Young Population (Sistema de Vigilancia de Factores de Riesgo Asociados a Enfermedades No Transmisibles dirigido a población Juvenil)(SIVFRENT-J); Study of Risk Factors in Secondary School Children (Estudio de factores de riesgo en estudiantes de secundaria) (FRESC); Surveillance Study of Health Behaviour in Adolescents (Estudio de Monitorización de las Conductas de Salud de los Adolescentes) (EMCSAT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of daily smokers varies among studies, in boys from 8.5 to 13.3% and in girls from 12.7 to 16.4%. Although some series show variations, the trend from 1993 to 2008 is downwards. With data from recent years, weighted annual declines in smoking prevalence in adolescence can be estimated to be 6.47% for boys and 6.96% for girls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a decreasing pattern in adolescent daily smoking prevalence in Spain from the different existing studies, which provide consistent data, although surveillance must be kept due to fluctuations. This is in agreement with tobacco sales statistics and health surveys in the adult population. However, the pace of change should be more rapid and constant.
authors.affiliation: Agència de Salut Pública, Barcelona, España. jrvillal@aspb.cat
authors.forename: Joan R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Villalbí
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Suelves
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: García-Continente
authors.forename: Esteve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saltó
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ariza
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cabezas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult