Determinants of cigarette smoking among school adolescents in eastern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

To assess the prevalence of cigarette use and its determinant factors among high school students in eastern Ethiopia.A cross-sectional study was conducted using structured self-administered questionnaires among 1,721 school adolescents in Harar town, eastern Ethiopia. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to examine associations.The analysis revealed that prevalence of ever cigarette smoking was 12.2% (95% CI 10.8% - 13.9%). Reasons mentioned for smoking cigarettes were for enjoyment (113, 52.8%), for trial (92, 42.9%), and for other reasons (9, 4.3%). The main predictors of cigarette smoking were sex (OR 4.32; 95% CI 2.59-7.22), age (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.05-1.38) and having friends who smoke (OR 8.14; 95% CI 5.19-12.70). Living with people who smoke cigarettes was not significantly associated with smoking among adolescents (OR 1.25; 95% CI 0.81-1.92).This study concluded that high proportion of school adolescents in Harar town smoked cigarettes. Sex, age and peer influence were identified as important determinants of smoking. There is a need for early cost-effective interventions and education campaigns that target secondary school students.Smoking is currently considered one of the greatest problems in public health worldwide, and it is one of the most preventable causes of death. Globally, the use and sale of substances such as alcohol and tobacco is causing substantial levels of health problems [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes more than 4 million deaths a year to tobacco and this figure is expected to increase to 10 million deaths a year by 2020. Moreover, it is now a growing public health challenge in the developing world [2]. According to WHO estimates, approximately 47% of men and 12% of women smoke cigarettes worldwide in 2010 [3]. Citing the death of 5 million individuals worldwide every year due to smoking-related diseases, the WHO states that smoking should be considered a pandemic [3]. In the United State