title: Smoking in early and mid-adolescence.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Smoking among young people is declining in many European countries, although in some (particularly Central and Eastern Europe), the rates among young females are increasing. We compared the risk factors and variables for smoking in early- versus mid-adolescence with a view to helping policy makers identify age-specific prevention strategies.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anonymous questionnaire on smoking habits was administered to 1383 underage students in the Veneto Region (northeast Italy) in 2010, consisting of multiple-choice questions using words, numbers, and graphical illustrations designed to make it appeal to the adolescent age group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 611 sixth-grade students, 93.5% of the boys and 95.3% of the girls had never smoked, although this was true of 53.2% of the boys and only 38.8% of the girls among 772 ninth-grade students. The first cigarette was smoked in different social settings and places, depending on the adolescents' age group. Age also influenced how much adolescents approved of smoking and their perception of how much their parents approved of them smoking. Adherence to the rules of their group of friends was the only variable found associated with smoking in both the age groups considered.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found experimental or habitual cigarette smoking rare among sixth graders, but much more common among ninth graders. Focused preventive measures are therefore needed in the intervening years. The transition from middle school to higher education coincides with a sharp drop in the perceived regulation of smoking at school, emphasizing the need for action to establish high schools as smoke-free environments.
authors: Toxicology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova, Via Loredan 18, Padua, Italy.
authors: Giovanni
authors: G
authors: Forza
authors: Alessandra
authors: A
authors: Buja
authors: Federica
authors: F
authors: Tognazzo
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Vinelli
authors: Vincenzo
authors: V
authors: Baldo
authors: Alberto
authors: A
authors: Amadori
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D061845:Smoke-Free Policy; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012931:Social Environment; D012933:Social Identification; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires