Prevalence and characteristics of smoking among youth attending the University of Brasília in Brazil.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of smoking and to describe the profile and smoking habits of students attending the Universidade de Brasília (University of Brasília) in Brasília, Brazil.

Methods: A total of 1341 students responded to a smoking questionnaire, adapted from the World Health Organization questionnaire, including questions directed at smokers, former smokers and nonsmokers. Twenty different courses in the areas of health, exact sciences and human sciences were evaluated. The students included in the study were duly enrolled in day courses and were evaluated during the second semester of 2003.

Results: The overall prevalence of smoking was 14.7%. Approximately 80.8% of the students were nonsmokers, and 4.5% were former smokers. In the study sample, 57.3% of the students were male. No significant difference (p > 0.05) in the prevalence of smoking was observed in terms of gender or class year. The mean age of the study population was 21.6 +/- 3.6 years, and the mean age at which the smoking habit was acquired was 17 +/- 2.8 years. The percentage of smokers was higher in the Geology, Communication, and History courses (32.9, 26.3 and 24.4%, respectively). Mean consumption was 7.5 cigarettes per day. The majority (72.6%) of the students used commercial cigarettes rather than other types of tobacco.

Conclusion: The high prevalence of smoking observed in the present study is similar to that reported for other universities and indicates the need for smoking control policies in university environments.