[Tobacco habits in a cohort of 4,135 adolescents attending high school in northern Italy. Results of a multicenter study].

Assuming that adolescence--a high risk age as far as this behavior is concerned--is the crucial stage for prevention procedures, we don't know much about Italian adolescents' tobacco related behaviors, regardless of the fact that tobacco smoking is one of the most relevant problems of Public Health. The goal of this research has been assessing, through a multicentric study using an anonymous questionnaire, how spread is this behavior among 4135 students attending high school in five different areas of Northern Italy. The research points out a remarkable spreading of the phenomenon and suggests to anticipate prevention procedures during compulsory education, taking in account gender features.