title: Social norms of cigarette and hookah smokers in Iranian universities.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  First experiences of tobacco use usually occur in adolescence. The recognition of social norms leading to youth smoking is hence necessary. We tried to assess the social norms among Iranian young cigarette and hookah smokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted on 451 girls and 361 boys aging 20-25 years old who entered Isfahan and Kashan Universities (Iran) in 2007. Demographic factors (age, gender, and age at smoking onset) cigarette and hookah smoking status, having a smoking father or smoking friends and four related social norms were recorded. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to separately determine associations between hookah and cigarette smoking and the four social norm variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CIGARETTE AND HOOKAH SMOKERS HAD SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WITH NONSMOKERS IN TWO SOCIAL NORMS: "Perceived smoking by important characters" [odds ratio (OR) = 1.35 in cigarette smokers and 1.58 in hookah smokers; P < 0.001] and "smoking makes gatherings friendly" (OR = 3.62 in cigarette smokers and 6.16 in hookah smokers; P < 0.001). Furthermore, cigarette and hookah smoking were significantly associated with having smoking friends.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Highlighting the social norms leading to cigarette and hookah smoking may help policy makers develop comprehensive interventions to prevent smoking among adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Head of Tobacco Control Unit, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research.
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Roohafza
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahnam
authors.forename: Pedram
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shokouh
authors.forename: Soheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Teimori
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amirpour
authors.forename: Nizal
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sarrafzadegan
keywords: Cigarette; Hookah; Smoking; Social Norm