BackgroundSmoking cessation is beneficial for our health at any point in life, both in healthy people and in people already suffering from a smoking-related disease. Any help to quit smoking can produce considerable benefits for Public Health. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of the CO-oximetry technique together with brief advice in smoking cessation, in terms of reduction of the number of cigarettes or in the variation of the motivation to quit smoking at month 12 compared with brief advice alone.Methods/DesignRandomised, parallel, single-blind clinical trial in a primary health care setting in Majorca (Spain). Smokers in contemplation or pre-contemplation phase will be included in the study. Exclusion criteria: Smokers in preparation phase, subjects with a terminal illness or whose health status does not allow them to understand the study or complete the informed consent, and pregnant or breastfeeding women. The subjects will be randomly assigned to the control group (CG) or the intervention group (IG). The CG will receive brief advice, and the IG will receive brief advice together with a measurement of exhaled CO. There will be follow-up evaluations at 6 and 12 months after inclusion. 471 subjects will be needed per group in order to detect a difference between groups ≥ 5%. Primary outcome: sustained smoking cessation (at 6 and 12 months) confirmed by urine cotinine test. Secondary outcomes: point smoking cessation at 6 and 12 months both confirmed by urine cotinine analysis and self-reported, reduction in cigarette consumption, and variation in phase of smoking cessation.DiscussionCO-oximetry is an inexpensive, non-invasive, fast technique that requires little technical training; making it a technique for risk assessment in smokers that can be easily applied in primary care and, if proven effective, could serve as a reinforcement aid in smoking cessation intervention activities.Trial RegistrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN67499921

Resumen AbstractThe socio-cultural environment is an important factor involved with the onset of smoking during adolescence. Initiation of cigarette smoking occurs almost exclusively during this stage. In this context we aimed to analyze the association of school and family factors with adolescent smoking by a cross-sectional study of 16 secondary schools randomly selected from the Balearic Islands involved 3673 students and 530 teachers.The prevalence of regular smoking (at least one cigarette per week) was 4.8% among first year students, 11.6% among second year students, 14.1% among third year students, 20.9% among fourth year students and 22% among teachers.Among first and second year students, there were independent associations between regular smoking and adolescents' perception of being allowed to smoke at home, belonging to a single parent family, poor relationship with parents, poor academic performance, lack of interest in studies and teachers' perception of smoking in the presence of pupils.Among third and fourth year students, there were independent associations between regular smoking and poor relationship with parents, adolescents' perception of being allowed to smoke at home, poor academic performance, lack of control over student misbehavior and the school attended.The school policies and practices affect student related health behavior regarding smoking, independent of individual and family factors.Key words: smoking, adolescence, schools, teachers, family.El entorno socio-cultural es un importante factor implicado en el inicio del tabaquismo durante la adolescencia. El inicio del tabaquismo ocurre casi exclusivamente en esa etapa. En este contexto, el objetivo era analizar la asociación entre factores escolares y familiares y tabaquismo en adolescentes, mediante un estudio transversal a una muestra aleatoria de 16 centros escolares de las Islas Baleares, donde participaron un total de 3673 escolares de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) y 530 profesores de dichos centros. La prevalencia de tabaquismo regular (al menos un cigarrillo por semana) fue de 4,8% entre los estudiantes de primero de ESO, el 11,6% entre los estudiantes de segundo de ESO, el 14,1% entre los estudiantes de tercero de ESO, el 20,9% entre los estudiantes de cuarto de ESO y del 22% entre los profesores. Entre los estudiantes de primero y segundo año, había asociaciones independientes entre el tabaquismo regular y: poder fumar en casa, pertenecer a una familia monoparental, tener una mala relación con los padres, bajo rendimiento académico, falta de interés en los estudios y la propia percepción de los profesores de consumo de tabaco por parte del profesorado en presencia de alumnos. Entre los alumnos de tercero y cuarto de ESO las variables que se mostraron independientemente asociadas al tabaquismo regular fueron: una mala relación con los padres, poder fumar en casa, bajo nivel académico, mayor transigencia del centro escolar sobre la mala conducta del estudiante y el propio centro escolar. Las políticas y prácticas esco...

is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal that encompasses all aspects of tobacco use, prevention and cessation that can promote a tobacco free society. The aim of the journal is to foster, promote and disseminate research involving tobacco use, prevention, policy implementation at a regional, national or international level, disease development-progression related to tobacco use, tobacco use impact from the cellular to the international level and finally the treatment of tobacco attributable disease through smoking cessation.