Smoking practices, risk perception of smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke exposure among 6th-grade students in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Full Abstract

This study assessed the smoking practices, risk perception of smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure among adolescents in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. We used a cross-sectional method to examine the smoking practices, risk perception of smoking, and ETS exposure of 6th-grade students (N=506), aged 11-13 years, attending six randomly selected middle schools. Schools were classified by school setting (i.e., public vs. private) and socioeconomic status (SES; i.e., low, middle, or high). The results indicated that 6th-grade students attending a public, low-SES school setting in Ciudad Juárez not only exhibited significantly higher rates of ETS exposure at home and in public places (p<.01) but also were more likely to have tried smoking (p<.01) and to be current smokers (p<.01), and were less likely to support a ban on smoking in public places (p<.01), compared with students who attended a private school or a public, middle- or high-SES school setting. These results provide further evidence that public health interventions to prevent initiation of smoking and to assist in smoking cessation among adolescents and to reduce their ETS exposure at home and in public need to target all school-aged students, especially those attending school in a low-SES settings.

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Author information

Author/s: Bird, Yelena (Y); Moraros, John (J); Olsen, Larry K (LK); Forster-Cox, Sue (S); Staines-Orozco, Hugo (H); Buckingham, Robert W (RW);

Affiliation: CHES, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA. yelenabird(-atsign-)yahoo.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (Nicotine Tob Res), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Feb; vol 9 (issue 2) : pp 195-203

Dates: Created 2007/03/16; Completed 2007/04/05;

PMID: 17365750, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Child
Environmental Exposure
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans

Male
Mexico
Risk-Taking
Schools
Smoking - adverse effects; psychology
Students
Tobacco Smoke Pollution

Associated Chemicals: Tobacco Smoke Pollution (0)

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