Resumen

LUQUE HERRERA, Leopoldo; RUIZ GARCIA, Javier; GOMEZ ALONSO, Carlos  y  RODRIGUEZOROZCO, Alain R. Prevalence of smoking and degree of nicotine addiction in adolescents of an urban preuniversity institute in Morelia. Rev Cubana Pediatr [online]. 2008, vol.80, n.4. ISSN 0034-7531.

INTRODUCTION. The magnitude of the damage induced by smoking is related to the degree of nicotine addiction. This addiction frequently starts in adolescence. This paper was aimed at estimating the prevalence of smoking and the degree of nicotine addiction in adolescents from an urban school in Mexico. METHODS. 314 adolescents aged 14-19 were interviewed with the assistance of the National School of Addictions 2004 and the Flagestrom questionnaire. The first was used to evaluate the prevalence of smoking and the second to determine nicotine dependence. RESULTS. The negree of nicotine addiction was mild in 30 % of the adolescents (94/314), moderate in 2.9 % (9/314) and severe in 0.03 % (1/314). On the other hand, the prevalence of smoking was 33.1 % (104/314). More than half of the surveyed adolescents smoked one in their life and 88 % of those who smoked began to do it before the age of 16. CONCLUSIONS. The prevalence of smoking among adolescents is a regional problem that suggests the evaluation of the health promotion actions directed to reduce the consumption of cigarettes and the expansion of this and other health promotion initiatives to places where adolescents live together.

Palabras clave : Tobacco smoking; nicotine addiction; adolescence.

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