[Tobacco consumption in pre-adolescent and adolescent school children in Spain: gender differences]

This paper aims to describe the prevalence of tobacco consumption among pre-adolescent and adolescent school children in Spain at the start of the 21st century. The data were collected within the framework of the "Estilos de Vida de los Adolescentes Escolarizados" (EVAE) project, a nationwide cross-sectional study on the lifestyles of adolescent school children. In this study, a random sample of 8429 students aged from 10 to 18 years old (49.9% boys and 50.1% girls) was selected. The school children filled in an anonymous questionnaire in their classrooms. Among the 12-year-old age group, there are a significantly higher number of boys than girls who have ever smoked tobacco. Figures are higher for girls in the 14-year-old or older age groups. Between the 12 and the 14-year-old age groups, there is an increase of 40 percentage points for girls who have ever smoked tobacco. The prevalence of daily smoking exceeds 10% among the 14-year-old or older age groups, with significantly higher rates for girls than for boys among the 15-year-old group and older students. Among the 17-year-old group, 25% of boys and 35% of girls report that they smoke daily. The recent experience of Spain and other countries shows that it is possible to significantly reduce the prevalence of tobacco consumption among school children within a few years. The primary prevention of tobacco consumption among adolescents can be highly effective and should constitute a priority for the health system, the education system and other sectors involved.