Knowledge, attitude and practice of cigarette smoking among senior secondary school students in Depok, Indonesia

Smoking behavior is primarily initiated and established during adolescence. Understanding the social context of smoking behavior among young people is required for developing strategies in preventing first tobacco use.

This study aimed at exploring the determinants of smoking behavior among senior secondary school students in Depok, Indonesia by identifying knowledge regarding smoking-related adverse outcomes, perception and attitude toward smoking behavior and tobacco control policy.

This study employed a cross-sectional design method. A total of 587 students from six senior secondary schools in Depok, Indonesia participated in this study. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were conducted to determine associations between cigarette smoking and independent variables.

Respondents ranged from 14 to 19 years old students. The proportion of current cigarette smokers were 99 students (17.0%) where the majority of the smokers were male (35.5%). The majority of the students, both smokers and non-smokers, were aware that cigarette smoking causes health problems. The present study found that attitudes that may lead to smoking behavior, in most cases, have been found to be significantly different between smokers and non-smokers. The perception of smoking behavior of smokers and non-smokers, such as smoking makes one more confident, cool, makes it easier to make friends, can relieve stress, symbolizes adulthood and masculinity, was statistically significant to smoking behavior.

The study highlights the importance of changing youths' image of cigarette smoking than merely educating students regarding the health hazards of smoking when they already possessed a good knowledge about those issues.