Estudo sobre o consumo de cigarros em escolas estaduais de Santa Maria - RS

Abstract

The use of cigarettes is one of the main causes of preventable diseases. A prevalence study on smoking habits was carried out in 2002 among 459 students from eight public high schools in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. All adolescents were interviewed separately using a confidential questionnaire. The study was aimed at measuring smoking prevalence and related risk factors among adolescents. The overall smoking prevalence rate in the sample was 18% (95% CI 14,6% - 21,7%). The risk factors for smoking found in the multivariate logistic regression analysis were: “smoking friends” (OR = 4,37; p = 0,000), “family income” (OR = 2,04; p = 0,013) and “age” (OR = 1,86; p = 0,031). The results displayed that adolescents had begun the smoking habit very early at a mean age of 14 years. Its very important adopts actions in order to prevent adolescents to have access to smoking.