title: Tobacco smoking among school children in Colombo district, Sri Lanka.
abstract: Tobacco smoking is an important problem among schoolchildren. The authors studied the patterns of tobacco smoking among schoolchildren in Colombo, Sri Lanka, using a self-administered questionnaire. Multistaged stratified random sampling was used to select 6000 students. Response rate was 90.7% (5446), out of which 53.4% were males. Prevalence rates for males and females, respectively, were as follows: having smoked at least 1 complete cigarette: 27.0% and 13.3%, smoked more than 100 cigarettes: 2.3% and 0.3%, daily smoking: 1.8% and 0.2%. Mean age of starting to smoke was 14.16 years. The tobacco products most used were cigarettes (91.5%) and bidis (3.8%). In univariate analysis, male gender, parental smoking, studying non-science subjects, peer smoking, and participating in sports were significantly associated with smoking of at least 1 complete cigarette (P < .05). In multivariate analysis, the most significant correlates were having close friends (odds ratio = 3.29, confidence interval = 2.47-4.37) or parents who smoked (odds ratio = 1.86, confidence interval = 1.28-2.71). Female smoking has increased from previously reported values. These high-risk groups can be targets for preventive programs.
authors.affiliation: University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Oxford, UK pkatulanda@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Prasad
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Katulanda
authors.affiliation: General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Isurujith Kongala
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Liyanage
authors.affiliation: BHF Health Promotion Research Group, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Kremlin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wickramasinghe
authors.affiliation: University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Indunil
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Piyadigama
authors.affiliation: University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Indika M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Karunathilake
authors.affiliation: Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Paula H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.affiliation: Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010379:Peer Group; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014026:Nicotiana