SMOKING CESSATION ATTEMPTS AND EIR OUTCOA"E AMONG ADOLESCENTS WHO EVER SMOKED IN TABOUK AREA, SAUDI ARABIA

Health education programs, mass media campaigns and nowadays even the slogans depicted on cigarette packages, warn smokers about the harmful effects of smoking. Despite all these efforts people continue to smoke1-3. Smoking among adolescents is on the increase worldwide and particularly in developing countries including rich developing countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Smoking surveys in the Middle East showed that smoking prevalence among young people ranged from 7% in Oman to 53% in Lebanon with 25% in Saudi Arabia4. Prevalence of smoking among adolescents appears to be rising, with more children and adolescents becoming regular users of tobacco each day. It has been estimated that 15% - 30% of Saudi adolescents smoke. Expenditure on tobacco imports is a significant burden on economic development. Saudi Arabia currently imports 20,000 million cigarettes per year, which costs $351.8 million4, Serious complications of smoking usually occur later in adult life but even at youth age there are numerous adverse health conditions caused by tobacco use including reductions in the rate of lung growth and in the level of maximum lung function, increase in the number and severity of respiratory illnesses and unfavorable effects on blood lipid levels5