Smoking prevalence in Portuguese school-aged adolescents by gender: can we be optimistic?

Abstract

Introduction: According to the MPOWER approach adopted in 2008 by the WHO, monitoring smoking epidemics is necessary in order to assess the effectiveness of the preventive measures used in smoking control in adolescents and adults. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of smoking in Portuguese school-aged adolescents by region. Material and methods: The sample is made up of 8764 students, 4060 boys and 4704 girls, and is representative of the Portuguese students in regular public education. The data was collected in the 2008/2009 academic year, through a quantitative self-report questionnaire. Results: In the total sample, 10.2% of boys and 9.1% of girls are regular smokers. Smoking increases with age. At 15 years old 12.3% of the boys and 8.6% of the girls are regular smokers and 6.1% of the boys and 4.0% of the girls are occasional smokers. Looking at prevalence by region, the highest prevalence of regular smoking is found in Alentejo (14.7%), followed by Azores (11.8%) and the lowest is found in Algarve (4.1%). Conclusions: The prevalence of smokers among Portuguese school-aged adolescents varies within the several regions of the country, similar to what happens in the adult Portuguese population.