Prevalence of cigarette smoking among secondary school students--Budapest, Hungary, 1995 and 1999.

The average per capita cigarette consumption in Hungary is among the highest in the world (World Health Organization [WHO], unpublished data, 1997) (1). In 1999, the Metropolitan Institute of State Public Health and Public Health Officer Service, Budapest, Hungary, collaborating with CDC, conducted a survey of cigarette smoking among secondary school students aged 14-18 years in Budapest (1999 population of Budapest: approximately 2 million), similar to a survey conducted in 1995 (2). This report summarizes the survey findings, which indicate that current smoking among secondary school students in Budapest increased from 36% in 1995 to 46% in 1999.