I GIOVANI E IL FUMO: CONOSCENZE ED ABITUDINI DI STUDENTI DI SCUOLA MEDIA SUPERIORE

The present research, carri ed out by means of a questionnaire distributed to 568 middle- and high-school students in some Marchean towns, aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the young regarding smoking. The data obtained revealed widespread smoking, the tendencies being to an in- creasingly precocious start, a more marked spread of the habit amongst girls, and an apparent increase among children coming from homes where both parents smoke. With regard to their knowledge of the damage to health from the use of to- bacco, the majority of those interviewed proved to have a generalized idea (e.g., only about 30% associated smoking with cancers of the respiratory system); moreover, almost none (only 0.9%) had any knowledge ofthe pro- blem of tabacosis