Abstract
This paper reports the findings of a survey of smoking habits among secondary schoolchildren and medical students in Lagos, Nigeria. Altogether 40% of boys and 8.4% of girls at secondary school, and 72.4% of men and 22.2% of women at medical school were found to smoke. While the smoking habit of the secondary schoolboys was influenced by the smoking habits of their parents and friends, the smoking habit of the secondary schoolgirls and female medical students was mainly influenced by that of their friends. This study provides a baseline against which future studies on smoking habits in developing African countries may be measured, and the results show that health education on cigarette smoking must start in primary and secondary schools.
Full text
PDFSelected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Arya O. P., Bennett F. J. Smoking amongst university students in Uganda--an analysis of prevalence and attitudes. East Afr Med J. 1970 Jan;47(1):18–28. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bewley B. R., Bland J. M., Harris R. Factors associated with the starting of cigarette smoking by primary school children. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1974 Feb;28(1):37–44. doi: 10.1136/jech.28.1.37. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- CARTWRIGHT A., THOMSON J. G. Young smokers. An attitude study among schoolchildren, touching also on parental influence. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1960 Jan;14:28–34. doi: 10.1136/jech.14.1.28. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- DOLL R., HILL A. B. A study of the aetiology of carcinoma of the lung. Br Med J. 1952 Dec 13;2(4797):1271–1286. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.4797.1271. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Elegbeleye O. O. Bronchial carcinoma in Nigerians. A report of six cases. J Trop Med Hyg. 1975 Mar;78(3):59–62. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Femi-Pearse D., Adeniyi-Jones A., Oke A. B. Respiratory symptoms and their relationship to cigarette-smoking, dusty occupations and domestic air pollution: studies in random sample of an urban African population. West Afr Med J Niger Med Dent Pract. 1973 Jun;22(3):57–63. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Holland W. W., Halil T., Bennett A. E., Elliott A. Factors influencing the onset of chronic respiratory disease. Br Med J. 1969 Apr 26;2(5651):205–208. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5651.205. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Miller G. J., Ashcroft M. T. A community survey of respiratory disease among East Indian and African adults in Guyana. Thorax. 1971 May;26(3):331–338. doi: 10.1136/thx.26.3.331. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- NILSEN E. Smoking habits among school children in Norway. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1959 Jan;13(1):5–13. doi: 10.1136/jech.13.1.5. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- OSWALD N. C., MEDVEI V. C. Chronic bronchitis; the effect of cigarette-smoking. Lancet. 1955 Oct 22;269(6895):843–844. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(55)93480-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Palmer A. B. Some variables contributing to the onset of cigarette smoking among junior high school students. Soc Sci Med. 1970 Sep;4(3):359–366. doi: 10.1016/0037-7856(70)90008-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- SALBER E. J., MACMAHON B. Cigarette smoking among high school students related to social class and parental smoking habits. Am J Public Health Nations Health. 1961 Dec;51:1780–1789. doi: 10.2105/ajph.51.12.1780. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- THE SMOKING habits of school children. Br J Prev Soc Med. 1959 Jan;13(1):1–4. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]