BACKGROUND

Most people start smoking during teenage years. There is an increasing trend in the prevalence of cigarette smoking among children and adolescents in recent years. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of cigarette smoking and associated risk factors among high-school students.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2010 in Hamadan City, west of Iran. A random sample of 1161 high-school students was enrolled voluntarily. The data collection tool was a self-administered questionnaire including demographic characteristics as well as questions about knowledge and attitude toward cigarette smoking. Stata version 11 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA) was employed for data analysis.

RESULTS

The prevalence of cigarette smoking was 10.2% (95% CI: 8.4%, 11.9%; SD = 0.30) with an increasing trend toward older ages. Of the 118 smokers, 70% were boys, 93% were 15-20 years old, 80% had experienced smoking before age of 15 yr, 80.3% used less than five cigarettes per day, and 39% started smoking out of curiosity. Students' mean scores of knowledge and attitude toward smoking were 53% and 74%, respectively. Odds ratio estimate of becoming a smoker was 4.44 for those who lived with people other than their parents, 5.68 for those who had siblings who smoke, 10.74 for those who had friends who smoke, 12.56 for those who were frequently offered cigarettes by their friends.

CONCLUSION

The current study revealed the effect of several social variables on adolescents' smoking status. The results of our study thus provide information on possible areas of intervention, which should be the focus of special attention by policymakers when planning tobacco control preventive programs among adolescents and young adults.