Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(3), 971-979; doi:10.3390/ijerph6030971
Article

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Initiation of Smoking in Greek High-School Students

Lazaros T. Sichletidis* email, Diamantis A. Chlorosemail, Anastasios I. Tsiotsiosemail and Dionisios G. Spyratosemail
Laboratory for the Investigation of Environmental Diseases, Pulmonary Clinic, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 15 December 2008 / Accepted: 14 February 2009 / Published: 2 March 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tobacco Smoking and Public Health)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [161 KB, uploaded 2 March 2009 15:56 CET]
Abstract: The smoking habits of 9,276 high-school students (15-18 years old) in six cities of Northern Greece were studied using a questionnaire in order to determine the prevalence and possible risk factors for initiation of smoking. We observed that 29.6% of high-school students (32.6% of boys and 26.7% of girls) were current smokers. A percentage of 43.3% had started smoking before the age of 14. Reactive behaviour towards parents’ and teachers’ advice (40.2%) and the existence of smoking friends (40.1%) were the main reasons of initiation. A well-planned integrated anti-smoking campaign is urgently required, especially among students and teachers.
Keywords: Adolescence; epidemiology; Greece; high-school students; smoking

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Sichletidis, L.T.; Chloros, D.A.; Tsiotsios, A.I.; Spyratos, D.G. Prevalence and Risk Factors for Initiation of Smoking in Greek High-School Students. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 971-979.

AMA Style

Sichletidis LT, Chloros DA, Tsiotsios AI, Spyratos DG. Prevalence and Risk Factors for Initiation of Smoking in Greek High-School Students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2009; 6(3):971-979.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sichletidis, Lazaros T.; Chloros, Diamantis A.; Tsiotsios, Anastasios I.; Spyratos, Dionisios G. 2009. "Prevalence and Risk Factors for Initiation of Smoking in Greek High-School Students." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 6, no. 3: 971-979.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health EISSN 1660-4601 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert