Abstract

Introduction: Smoking is regarded as one of the major causes of death caused by chronic diseases which begins during adolescence. Considering the fact that the age of  smoking onset in both developed and developing countries is decreasing, the current study aimed to determine the prevalence of  lifetime smoking and its determinant factors in high schools of Shiraz.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 750 students (569 males and 181 females) participated who were selected via multi-stage cluster randomized sampling. The study data were collected using a checklist designed under the supervision of a team of specialists, that was responded by self-reports of the students. The collected data was statistically analyzed applying SPSS software (ver. 20), via χ2 and logistic regression tests.

Results: 85% of students mentioned they had not had smoking experience, and 15% reported experience of smoking. The prevalence of smoking among the boys was 15/3% and it was reported 12/2% within the girls. Most smoker students cited smoker friends and close relatives as the most important factor in encouraging them to smoke. In the present study, the relationship between smoking and the following parameters was examined: age, gender, educational status, field of study, and parents’ educational level; however, the sole significant relationship was observed between smoking, educational status (P=0.025), and field of study (P=0.032).

Conclusion: As the findings of the present study revealed, more attention to adolescents and related planning are needed to deal with the problem of cigarette smoking among this stratum of society.