Students' unchanging smoking habits in urban and rural areas in the last 15 years.
BACKGROUND
Smoking is the main preventable public health problem particularly for youth worldwide. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of smoking habits among students at secondary and high schools, and to compare the findings with those of a study conducted 15 years ago in the same area.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study 6212 students (51.2% female; 48.8% male) were selected randomly from rural and urban areas in Samsun. All students completed a face-to-face questionnaire.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of smoking was 13.0% (male students, 18.1%; female students, 8.2%). The mean starting age of smoking was 14.1 ± 1.5 years. Prevalence of smoking was 15.7% in urban areas and 8.1% in rural areas. The most important factors for starting smoking were social group and families. Compared with a study conducted 15 years previously in the same area for male students, smoking prevalence was increased in rural, but decreased in urban areas.


CONCLUSIONS
Smoking prevalence in students in Samsun was similar to that in a study conducted 15 years previously. It is important to use anti-smoking campaigns directly targeted at teenager and they should be fully informed of the harmful effects of smoking.
Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
Gulfer
G
Akca
Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Meram Medical School, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey.
Sukru Nail
SN
Guner
Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
Unal
U
Akca
Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
Mehtap
M
Kilic
Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
Recep
R
Sancak
Department of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
Fadil
F
Ozturk
D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D012424:Rural Population; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population
Turkey; prevalence; smoking; student