title: Smoking experimentation among elementary school students in China: influences from peers, families, and the school environment.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate experimentation with smoking among primary school students in China. Data were acquired from a recent survey of 4,073 students in grades 4 to 6 (ages 9-12) in 11 primary schools of Ningbo City. The questions were adapted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). Results suggest that although the Chinese Ministry of Education (MOE) encourages smoke-free schools, experimentation with cigarettes remains a serious problem among primary school students in China. Peers, family members, and the school environment play important roles in influencing smoking experimentation among students. Having a friend who smoked, seeing a family member smoke, and observing a teacher smoking on campus predicted a higher risk of experimentation with smoking; the exposure to anti-tobacco materials at school predicted a lower risk of experimentation with smoking. The evidence suggests that public health practitioners and policymakers should seek to ensure the implementation of smoke-free policies and that intervention should target young people, families, and communities to curb the commencement of smoking among children and adolescents in China.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA. Chenghuang@gwu.edu
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koplan
authors.forename: Shaohua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Changwei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Chaoran
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kegler
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Redmon
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eriksen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013334:Students