Smoking among adolescents in an urban setting: A household survey

Background: Tobacco smoking is a licit drug very used by adolescents worldwide. This study aims to estimate smoking prevalence in Belo Horizonte City, Brazil, and related risk factors among adolescents. Methods: We used data from the household survey carried out by Brazilian National Cancer Institute (2003) in 15 Brazilian capitals and the Federal District. The following variables were considered: demographic data; physical activity; diet; smoking (in the individual, the familiar group and the social group); alcohol consumption; among others. This study included information on 630 adolescents (age 15-24) living in Belo Horizonte. Smoking prevalence rate was estimated and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out. Results: The overall smoking prevalence rate was 11.7% (95%CI=9.1%-14.4%), 15.1% for males and 8.9% for females (p=0.02). The following were the associated factors for smoking: alcohol consumption (OR=20.6; 95%IC=8.6-49.2), older age (OR=1.2; 95%IC=1.1-1.4); father who smokes (OR=4.0; 95%IC=1.9-8.5), brother who smokes (OR=2.5; 95%IC=1.2-5.2) and having a better friend who smokes (OR=5.2; 95%IC=2.5-10.9).
Conclusions: The prevalence of smoking among adolescents in the city was high, increasing with age and alcohol consumption. Therefore, it is important to adopt measures of prevention and to delineate actual interventions.