MS 14.00-15.30 Main sessions
The last survey was administered between October 1993 and June 1994 in 24 countries. Questionnaires were administered in school classroom ensuring students' anonymity. Following the research protocol every effort was made that researchers in each country made survey instruments similar and used standard data collection and processing procedures. Altogether the data consists of 110303 11, 13 and 15 years old schoolchildren.
Regular smoking was very rare among 11 yrs old pupils. In all countries only 1-6% of them smoked weekly. Smoking became more prevalent by age especially between the age 13 and 15 yrs. Among 15-yrs old boys weekly smoking was most common in Greenland (49%), Flemish-speaking community in Belgium (32%), Latvia (33%) and Finland (30%). It was an interesting finding that weekly smoking was more common among girls than boys in most western European countries as well as in Canada apart from Belgium, Finland and Greenland.
Among girls the highest smoking prevalence were found in Greenland (46%), Austria (31%), Germany (29%) and in Canada (28%). The differences between the countries were big especially among girls. Among boys the lowest weekly smoking providences were found in Israel (9%), in other countries the prevalence varied between 15-32% excluding Greenland. Girls from eastern European countries reported relatively low rates of weekly smoking. In Lithuania, Slovakia, Estonia, Russia, Czech Rep, Poland and Latvia the prevalence of weekly smokers varied between 4-14%, in other countries the prevalence varied between 18-31% excluding Greenland. In Israel weekly smoking was very rare among girls, too (9%).
The amount of cigarettes/week among 15 years old weekly smokers was higher among boys in most of the countries. This indicator varied also a lot between countries. Among Finnish 15-yrs old boys the weekly consumption was the highest, in average 60 cigarettes and among girls 49 cigarettes compared to lowest figures found in Lithuania; among boys 25 cig/week and girls 18 cig/week.
As a conclusion the HBSC study shows interesting cultural and gender related variations in smoking habits which have to be taken into account when increasing the understanding of smoking behaviour among youth as well as in planning national health promotion strategies to prevent smoking.
Countries and regions in HBSC-study 1993/94: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France (Nancy and Tailless), Germany (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Greenland, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, N.Irland, Norway, Poland, Russia (St. Petersburg and district), Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales.
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