[Smoking prevalence among students from Florianópolis, SC, Brazil and nursing contributions]

Study of the prevalence of smoking among school children, using secondary data from the Survey School "Doing Research - Monitoring of Smoking in School", conducted by the Centre for Oncologic Research of Santa Catarina. Included variables such as age, the starting in smoking, level of knowledge about the subject, among others. It was found that 41.6% of students smoked sometime in life, no statistical difference between the sexes. Among those who have tried, 38.3% did so between 7 and 11 years. The analysis provided a characterization of the prevalence of risk factors, subsidizing a more effective prevention of nursing and its integration in schools.