BACKGROUND: People start smoking at early ages in Chile. AIM: To assess the prevalence and features of smoking habits among high school students in Quinchao, a southern rural community in Chile. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A self administered inquiry about smoking habits was answered by 144 male and 168 female students aged 13 to 22 years old, living in Quinchao. RESULTS: Eighty percent of students has smoked at least once. The prevalence of smokers was 64% for males and 58% for females. The latter started their smoking habit at a mean age of 13.6 years compared with males that started smoking at 14.1 years as a mean. The prevalence of smoking increased with age and among students with smoking relatives. The prevalence of daily smokers was 12% in the total sample, 19% among students older than 17 years old and 21% among students with poor academic performance. Seventy two percent of smokers and 50% of daily smokers were worried about the effects of smoking on health. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of smoking in this rural community is similar to that of big cities.
BACKGROUND:People start smoking at early ages in Chile. AIM: To assess the prevalence and features of smoking habits among high school students in Quinchao, a southern rural community in Chile. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A self administered inquiry about smoking habits was answered by 144 male and 168 female students aged 13 to 22 years old, living in Quinchao. RESULTS: Eighty percent of students has smoked at least once. The prevalence of smokers was 64% for males and 58% for females. The latter started their smoking habit at a mean age of 13.6 years compared with males that started smoking at 14.1 years as a mean. The prevalence of smoking increased with age and among students with smoking relatives. The prevalence of daily smokers was 12% in the total sample, 19% among students older than 17 years old and 21% among students with poor academic performance. Seventy two percent of smokers and 50% of daily smokers were worried about the effects of smoking on health. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of smoking in this rural community is similar to that of big cities.