Prevalence and predictors of cigarette smoking among Greek urban adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Studies on smoking prevalence of Greek adolescents are sparse and ambiguous. We aimed to investigate prevalence and predictors of cigarette smoking among Greek adolescents. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional study of 1.802 randomly selected students in the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki in Greece in 2013-2014. Multistage sampling with quotas was used with regard to the geographical distribution of the target population gender and grade. Data were collected by a self-completed questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the association between selected variables and the likelihood of being a current smoker. RESULTS Cigarette smoking was reported by 18.2% (95% CI=16.4-20.0); 8.1% (95% CI=6.2-10.0) of Gymnasium and 26.1% (95% CI=23.4-28.8) of Lyceum students reported being smokers. An estimated 38.0% (95% CI=35.8-40.2) had ever tried cigarette, 27.1% (95% CI=25.1-29.2) hookah and 17.7% (95% CI=15.9-19.5) an electronic cigarette. Older age (OR= 11.59; 95% CI [6.25, 21.50], parental tobacco use (OR=1.71; 95% CI [1.19, 2.46]), sibling tobacco use (OR=2.07; 95% CI [1.43, 2.99], teachers' tobacco use (OR=1.97; 95%CI [1.23, 3.17]), exposure to smoking through the media (OR= 1.48; 95% CI[1.03,2.14] and tobacco promotion activities (OR=3.73;95% CI[2.88,4.83] were associated with current smoking. CONCLUSIONS Greek adolescents report lower smoking rates than previously reported, yet it is a population experimenting with tobacco products. Electronic cigarette emerged as the third most likely product of experimentation. The social origin of smoking behavior is confirmed, as well as the imperative need to encourage tobacco-free school policies and bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

Price promotions and marketing within points of sale around high schools in Greece during the 2012 economic crisis

“…In coherence with the restrictions in advertising, the repeated tax increases and additionally supported by the growing economic crisis, cigarette consumption and prevalence has notably dropped during the past 4 years, especially among younger age groups 10 . Recent cross sectional studies in Greece have calculated the prevalence of smoking among 13-15 year olds to be at 8%, with adolescents exposed to promotion activities of the tobacco industry identified to be 3.7 times more likely to be smokers than those not exposed to tobacco industry advertising 11 . The findings of our study clearly indicate that adolescent smoking in Greece could also be 'socially cued' as there are several cues to action (outdoor tobacco advertisements, price incentives) in POS around schools that may play a role in urging young people to experiment or initiate smoking, as outdoor cigarette price promotions may be even more appealing to young people who are price sensitive 12 .…”