title: Smoking in young and adult population, Italy 2009.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To monitor smoking prevalence and trends of young and adult populations in Italy. METHOD AND STUDY DESIGN: A survey on smoking was conducted during March-April 2009 on a sample of 3213 participants (1546 men and 1667 women), representative of the Italian population aged 15 years or over. Data from a simplified questionnaire were collected in an over-sample of 1010 young individuals, reaching a total of 1390 participants aged 15-24 years (713 males and 677 females).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 2009, 25.4% of Italians described themselves as current cigarette smokers (28.9% of men and 22.3% of women). Among young people, male smoking prevalence steadily declined from 38% in 2001 to 29% in 2009. Smoking prevalence in young females decreased from 30% in 2001 to 19% in 2008, but increased to 23% in 2009. Among both males and females aged 15-17 years, smoking prevalence was around 10%. This increased in the 18-24 year age group, with 37.6% of current smokers among males and 28.9% among females. Among young current smokers, 45.5% reported that they would reduce the number of cigarettes smoked per day, 11.1% would quit smoking, and 4.3% would switch to hand-rolled cigarettes, assuming that the minimum price of a pack of cigarettes increased to € 5.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings indicate that smoking prevalence has decreased over recent years, particularly in the young. Still, over one-fourth of Italian adults are smokers. An increase in cigarette price represents an effective strategy to control tobacco, particularly in the young.
authors: Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche, Mario Negri, Milan, Italy.
authors: Irene
authors: I
authors: Tramacere
authors: Silvano
authors: S
authors: Gallus
authors: Roberta
authors: R
authors: Pacifici
authors: Piergiorgio
authors: P
authors: Zuccaro
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Colombo
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: La Vecchia
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D003132:Commerce; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult