Smoking among rural and urban young women in China

Methods A survey of 11 095 urban and rural women attending high school or college, aged 14e24 years, in 6 Chinese provinces was conducted. Ever-smoking (ES), current smoking, established smoking and intention to smoke frequencies were calculated. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify possible correlates of smoking, and those found to be significant at the p0.1 level were included in a multivariate logistical regression model to obtain adjusted OR for correlates of ES. Results ES prevalence was 20.1%, with urban female students (UFS) at 22.0 % and rural female students (RFS) at 19.0 % (p<0.01). Established smoking prevalence was higher among UFS than RFS (2.4 % vs 0.9%, p<0.01). Similarly, current smoking prevalence was higher amon