Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking and to examine the influence of social factors on smoking in adolescents. One thousand forty nine 2 nd grade students (713 males and 336 females; mean age 16.3±0.7 years) filled out a detailed questionnaire about smoking. The prevalence of smokers was 23.2% (males 22.7%, females 24.1%; p>0.05). Smoking habits of the students were not relat - ed with the education or social status of their parents. Although smoking behavior among students was not associated with the smoking status of their parents, a relationship was observed with siblings’ behavior (p<0.01). It was observed that as the age of smoking initiation dropped or smoking time increased, the amount of cigarettes smoked per day increased (p<0.01). Among students who were smoking, 68.8% report - ed that they intended to quit and 42% reported at least an attempt to quit in the past. This study demon - strates that smoking behavior of siblings is the most important factor among the familial factors. A large pro - portion of high school smokers wants to quit smoking but is unsuccessful. Therefore, we consider that young smokers who are already motivated to quit need more energetic cessation programs.