Theory & Practice Pages 750–760 Factors associated with smoking progression among Spanish adolescents

Nebot-Adell Smoking onset takes place in the early years of adolescence, and can be seen as a progression through stages of preparation, trying, experi-mentation, regular smoking and nicotine dependence or addiction. The objective of this study is to identify 1-year predictors of smoking consolidation among occasional smokers (experimenters) and of cessation among all smokers. A questionnaire developed to monitor trends in smoking and other health-related behaviors was administered in the spring of 1992 and again 1 year later (1993). The survey was carried out in six large, private schools in Barcelona and Raimat, in the Lleida province, in Catalonia (Spain). In total, 1460 schoolchildren aged 12–19 responded to both the baseline and follow-up questionnaires; 1236 questionnaires (84.7%) were matched through a personal code and were used for the longitudinal study. At the baseline survey 28 % of the schoolchildren were regular smokers and 17.1 % were occasional smokers, with no differences by gender. At the follow-up survey, progression from occasional to regular smoking was observed in 42 % of the girls and 22.7 % of the boys. Other predictors of consolidation included drinking alcohol (OR 3.1; 95 % CI 1.1–10.1) and reporting the intention to smoke in the future (OR 2.5; 95 % CI 1.3–4.9). Among all the smoker