Prevalence of smoking among adolescent students in Navarra

This paper reports the prevalence of smoking among adolescent students in Navarra, analyzing the data by sex and geographic area. A sample representative of Navarran adolescent school children between 12 and 18 years old was identified. The prevalence of smoking was measured by way of an anonymous self-administered questionnaire filled out at school. A chi 2 test and analysis of variance were performed. Three hundred students (180 girls, 51.43%; 170 boys, 48.57%) were surveyed. Mean ages were 14.35 +/- 1.82 and 14.15 +/- 1.93 years, respectively. Smoking prevalence was 35% among girls in the Foral Community of Navarra and 28.82% among the boys. The age of initiation to smoking and frequency of smoking are analyzed for the five geographic areas of the Navarra province. The prevalence of smoking is higher among girls. Children are tending to start smoking at earlier ages (primary school). No differences in smoking frequency were observed for rural and urban areas.