[Factors associated with susceptibility to cigarette consumption in 10 and 11 year old school students from Cartagena, Colombia].

Objective: To determine associated factors to susceptibility to smoking in school students between 10 and 11 years old from Cartagena, Colombia.

Method: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with a nonrandom convenience sample of 289 students between 10 and 11 years old of sixth-grade from public schools in Cartagena, Colombia. The information was collected through the demographic profile, the scale of susceptibility to persuasion towards consumption, the family Apgar scale, Rosenberg for self-esteem and Zung anxiety scale, and the smoking use inventory together with the attitudes on it, according to the Encuesta Mundial Sobre Tabaquismo en jóvenes (Emtajoven).

Results: 289 students, mean age 10,9 (SD = 0,25) participated, 157 (54,3%) were women and 132 (45,7%) were men. The frequency of cigarette consumption for at least once in their lives was 20 (6,9%), and the high persuasion susceptibility was 61 (21,1%). Factors associated with high persuasion susceptibility to smoking cigarette were: being male (OR: 2,8 and CI 95% 1,6 to 5,1), family dysfunction (OR: 2,3 CI 95% 1,2 to 4.2) and having ever smoked once in life (OR 3,4 CI 95% 1,3 to 8,7).

Conclusions: Susceptibility to smoking among students of 6th grade is associated with being male, family dysfunction and having ever smoked in life.