Factors associated with cigarette smoking among public school adolescents

Abstract

Objective Estimating the prevalence of cigarette smoking and its association with sociodemographic variables, sexual initiation and experience with domestic violence among adolescents from public schools in Guanambi, Bahia, Brazil. Method A crosssectional study carried out with adolescents. Data were collected through interviews guided by a structured instrument, and analyzed according to descriptive and inferential statistics with multiple logistic regression. Results A total of 370 adolescents participated in the study. The prevalence of cigarette smoking was 17.6% and a statistically significant association was observed between the variables: age over 15 years (PR = 5.63 and 95% CI: 1.33 – 23.85), males (PR = 2.53 and 95% CI: 1.47 – 4.37), no reported religion (PR = 1.93 and 95% CI: 0.99 – 3.75), working (PR = 2.17 and 95% CI: 1.25 – 3.74), onset of sexual activity (PR = 10.64 and CI= 95%: 5.31 – 21.33) and experience of domestic violence (PR = 3.61 and 95% CI: 2.07 – 3.28). Conclusion The prevalence of cigarette smoking and the associated variables point to the need for intervention strategies among more vulnerable groups of adolescents, encompassing family involvement and assistance from teachers and health professionals, in particular nurses working in Primary Care.