Smoking habits among students of a public school of the city of S. Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

A study was carried out at a public school of the city of São Paulo to investigate the cigarette smoking habits of 5th- to 8th-graders in 1975. Over 90 per cent of 1002 students answered a questionnaire on their smoking habits. The percentage of regular and occasional smokers increased from 8 per cent in the 5th grade to 17.5 per cent in the 8th grade. The greatest increase occurred from the 6th to the 7th grade. There was a real difference in the percentage of smokers between the boys and girls, particularly in the 8th grade when 36 per cent of the boys smoked half a pack of cigarettes or more per day. Boys and girls who smoked reported an interval of about two years between their first cigarette and becoming regular smokers. The paper concludes that anti-smoking programs should start in school at the 5th grade.