[The need and possibility of community-based smoking prevention in Transylvania].

The study is based on an ongoing joint research of the Târgu Mureş University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Davidson College from USA related to smoking prevention. Some of the objectives of the study in 3 Transylvanian counties were: the assessment of adolescents' smoking habits, the proof of the need for community prevention, the development of a methodology which applies to local characteristics, and the implementation of a community-based prevention plan.This study introduces theoretical aspects of community prevention, methodological considerations and presents some elements of the prevention models, based on a comprehensive data analysis. Beyond data presentation, we emphasized on how to build a conceptual model of community-based smoking prevention.