Smoking behavior of high school students in Israel

To evaluate the recently developed and implemented Israeli educational program "Smoking and Cigarette Smoke" (SACS), data was collected on the current smoking behavior and attitudes of high school adolescents. A representative sample of 1,420 students in 22 high schools participated in the study. Each participant had to respond to 65 items of a specially devised questionnaire with respect to his or her smoking behavior and attitudes. According to age and sex in the school year 1980-81, the percentage of smokers within the target population, the distribution by age of when the student started smoking, as well as the distribution of reasons given for both smoking and not smoking, are recorded and analyzed. Generally, it was found that smoking behavior (and age distribution) of high school students in Israel is comparable to that of high school students in the United States. However, the reasons for smoking and not smoking as perceived by the students themselves are different in the two countries both qualitatively and quantitatively. It is concluded that in order to be successful, any preventive antismoking program should be modified and tailored in accordance with the characteristics and needs of the target population under the particular local set of constraints.