title: Socioeconomic status and tobacco consumption among adolescents: a multilevel analysis of Argentina's Global Youth Tobacco Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The relationship between poverty and tobacco consumption among adolescents has not been extensively studied, and what evidence exists has come almost entirely from developed countries. Moreover, the impact of contextual factors--such as school-level poverty--remains unclear.
  
  
  METHODS
  We obtained information about smoking behavior from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey in Argentina in 2007. School-level characteristics were derived by matching schools to census areas from the 2001 Census. Additional school-level information was obtained from the Ministry of Education. Random intercept models were used to evaluate the associations of school-level variables (poverty in the census area of the school, school receipt of social assistance, and public or private status) with current smoking, intention to quit, secondhand smoke exposure outside the home, support for smoke-free laws, purchase of single cigarettes among smokers, and susceptibility to smoking in 5 years among nonsmokers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After controlling for age and sex, students attending schools receiving social assistance were more likely to smoke (odds ratio [OR] 1.35, 95% CI 1.02-1.80) and to purchase loose cigarettes (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.08-2.54), whereas school poverty was significantly associated with secondhand smoke exposure (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.04-1.58).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that an association exists between unfavorable contextual school characteristics and tobacco consumption and related measures among youth in Argentina. Efforts to prevent smoking may need to address the school-level factors that place youth at higher risk.
authors.affiliation: Dirección de Promoción de la Salud y Control de Enfermedades No Transmisibles, Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, Av 9 de julio 1925 9no, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, C1073ABA, Argentina. blinetzky@msal.gov.ar
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Linetzky
authors.forename: Raul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mejia
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ferrante
authors.forename: Fernando G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: De Maio
authors.forename: Ana V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Diez Roux
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010379:Peer Group; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012931:Social Environment; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution