title: Personal and Family Factors Affecting Life time Cigarette Smoking Among Adolescents in Tehran (Iran): A Community Based Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prevalence of smoking among adolescents varies in different parts of the world. The current study aims to survey the socio-demographic and family characteristics related to adolescent lifetime cigarette smoking among 1201 Iranian adolescents aged 15-18 years old.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is a population-based cross-sectional survey conducted using the multistage random cluster sampling method in Tehran, Iran in the summer of 2010.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of lifetime cigarette use amongst boys (30.2%) was about 1.5 times that of girls (22.2%), (p=0.002). Older age, low parental control, very little parental supervision in the adolescent's selection of friends, and having a friend or family member who smokes were associated with lifetime cigarette use among male adolescents. Moreover, the use of verbal punishment by the parents was a protective factor for female lifetime cigarette use. Smoking has become one of the great health threats among Iranian adolescents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As a result, health promotion programs should be gender based whilst educational and interventional programs for preventing tobacco use should begin before adolescence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Azam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baheiraei
authors.forename: Zeinab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hamzehgardeshi
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Saharnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nedjat
authors.forename: Eesa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
keywords: Adolescent; Cigarette; Family behavior; Iran; Smoking; Tehran