Tobacco use among adolescent students in the city of Soure, Pará, northern Brazil

Tobacco use among adolescents

Abstract

Initiating tobacco use in adolescence and continuing it into adulthood significantly increases the risk of morbidity and mortality from chronic and preventable diseases. This study identified the prevalence of tobacco use in life (experimentation) and frequent use (last 30 days), and the factors associated with the use of this psychoactive substance among adolescent students in the municipality of Soure, Archipelago of Marajó, northern Brazil. In this cross-sectional study, information related to tobacco use and the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of 736 adolescent students were collected in three public schools using a semi-structured questionnaire. Chi-square and Odds Ratio tests were used to identify factors associated with tobacco use. The prevalences of tobacco use in life and frequent use were 32.34% and 19.02%, respectively. The use of psychoactive substances (licit or illicit) by parents/guardians and friends, and the use of alcohol were factors associated with tobacco use in life. These same three factors and age over 16 years were associated with frequent use of this substance. These findings can be used to guide health promotion actions in the municipality of Soure, especially to present and discuss the use of psychoactive substances, such as tobacco, by the school community. The negligence of this can impact the health of adolescents, as the continuous use of tobacco causes several health problems, as well as the maintenance of this use can influence the next generations to use tobacco.