Covariates of current cigarette smoking among secondary school students in Budapest, Hungary, 1999

To date, few studies have examined the relationship between health behavior risk factors and cigarette smoking in Hungary. From 1995 to 1999, the prevalence of current smoking increased from 35.9 to 46.0% among secondary students in Budapest, Hungary. The objective of the present study was to examine the association between smoking and other health behavior risk factors among secondary school students in Budapest. Surveys were administered during regular classes in 21 traditional and nine vocational/technical schools containing Grades 9-12; 2410 students aged 15-18 years were included in the analysis. Overall, 44.9% of males and 46.9% of females were current smokers. Smoking increased with age and was significantly higher among vocational/technical (60.2%) than traditional (43.1%) students. The likelihood of smoking was significantly higher among students who rarely or never used a seatbelt when riding in a car driven by someone else, currently used alcohol, had engaged in episodic heavy drinking, had had four or more sex partners during their lifetime or did not participate in vigorous physical activity. Health-risk behaviors are frequently interrelated. Findings suggest that programs designed to prevent smoking should consider related health-risk behaviors as part of a comprehensive program.