[The attitude of Nal'chik schoolchildren toward harmful habits]

Questionnaires were used to study the attitude of 4594 Nal'chik schoolchildren (86% of the representative population sample) to harmful habits to establish the incidence of the latter ones. 38.2% of the boys and 11.8% of the girls smoked, among them 24.2 and 2.7% respectively smoked on a regular basis (one cigarette a week). 39.5% of the boys and 25% of the girls took alcoholic drinks. This number did not include 11.4% of the boys and 3.6% of the girls who drank before but discontinued drinking completely for the last 12 months. The causes of tobacco-smoking and alcoholization turned varied, with the main of them being a wide prevalence of harmful habits among the adult population and extremely low knowledge of a real influence exerted by tobacco-smoking and alcohol on human body. It is significant that about 20% of the questioned failed to give a conclusive answer to the items of the questionnaire. In addition to the lack of health education, this may lead to an increase in the spread of harmful habits among schoolchildren. Based on the data obtained attempts are made to carry out a goal-oriented work aimed at the formation of a healthy way of life among school-children.