Prevalence of cigarette smoking and relevant factors among school students in south of Iran

The aim of this research was to evaluate the prevalence of cigarette smoking and its relationship with some demographic features, among first and second grade of high school students in Kerman city.
Materials and Methods: In this cross – sectional study 860 students (514 girls, 346 boys) were selected randomly in Kerman in 2003. They answered to the self – made questionnaire including issues related to smoking and demographic features and included Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependent. Data analysis was done by SPSS -10 software and using T– test, қ² and Fisher test.
Results: In males 6.1% and in females 6.6% (6.4% totally) had smoked at least once in their life. 1.7% of males and 2.3% of females (2.1%) smoke sometimes. 2.8% of males and 0.4% of females (1.2%) were smokers. So 10.1% of males and 9.7% of females had experienced smoking. About 2.3% of males and 1.2% of females would like to quit smoking. In according to Fagerstrom test, 9 students, 5 males (1.5%) and 4 females (0.8%) were heavy smokers. 27 students, 15 males (4.4%) and 12 females (3.3%) were mild or moderate cigarette users.
Conclusion: Cigarette smoking abuse is significantly high among teenagers in Iran therefore preventive activities should be directed in that way. This study showed that the prevalence of smoking was higher among boys but smoking for fun intentions was more in girls.