title: Contribution of certain individual factors and of the entourage to the heavy smoker status in Timiş County students.
abstract: The study aimed for a hierarchy of factors associated to the heavy smoker status in young people.
  
  
  METHODS
  The representative sample of students included into the study totalized 2076 young subjects in Timis County universities, with urban residence, 62.5% girls and 37.5% boys, aged between 18-25 years. The working method was the transversal population study based on the CORT 2004 questionnaire regarding health risk behaviors in adolescents and young people. Data processing used the Epilnfo software. The strongest predictors of the heavy smoker status in young people are the existence of suicidal thoughts, the increased number of friends who smoke the smoker status without the wish to quit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Students with an increased intensity of smoking more frequently experienced suicidal thoughts as compared to students smoking with a medium intensity. Students with a medium smoking intensity have significantly more friends who smoke as compared to students who are light smokers. Students, who tried to quit smoking, smoke significantly less cigarettes a day than those who did not wish to quit smoking.
authors.affiliation: Victor Babeş University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timişoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Mihaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Popa
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bagiu
authors.forename: Brigitha
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vlaicu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data