Prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents in north Kerala, India.

The present study was conducted to assess the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents and also the reasons for the initiation of tobacco use amongst them. It was conducted in ten randomly selected schools in Kannur district of Kerala state, India. A total of 3,000 school children participated. The study observed an overall prevalence of 5.5% for users. The prevalence observed among boys was 12% and none of the girls were tobacco users. Associations between father's and friend's tobacco habits were observed.