title: Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking Usage among Adolescent Students in Northern Saudi Arabia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cigarette smoking is a major public health issue in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in recent years, particularly among adolescents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking usage among adolescent students in the north of the country.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study investigated 305 adolescent students from the Northern KSA population, their ages ranging from 11 to 19 years old.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 287 respondents, 56/287(19.5%) were found to be current smokers. Of the 56 current smokers, 14/52 (27%), 29/52 (55.8%), and 9/52 (17.2%) smoked 1-3, 4-10 and 11+ cigarettes/day, respectively. For duration most had smoked for 26-36 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of the present study indicate that cigarette smoking use is still an important risk behavior among adolescent students. The findings of this study found a significant association of cigarette smoking usage and adolescents various believes and attitude for initiation of smoking and perception toward knowledge of other factors that contribute to the burden of tobacco use.
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Hail, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) E-mail : hussaingad1972@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Rakan Mosa
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Algorinees
authors.forename: Ibrahim Ghazy Kiran
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Alreshidi
authors.forename: Mohammed Fahad Mohammed
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Alateeq
authors.forename: Abdullah Abdulaziz Salem
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alghuraymi
authors.forename: Adel Ahmed Abdulrahman
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alfayez
authors.forename: Fahad Khaled Fahad
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Almuzaini
authors.forename: Mohammed Abdulaziz Brahim
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Alsaif
authors.forename: Hussain Gadelkarim
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013334:Students; D055815:Young Adult; D014026:Nicotiana