Forms of Smoking Among Children Ages 8 to 12 Years in Prague, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

Smoking is rarely monitored in children younger than 12 years of age. In order to learn more about this demographic group, smoking behavior among 3,887 children ages 8 to 12 years was evaluated in Prague, Czech Republic. Among the children evaluated, 24.0% reported having ever smoked. The mean age of the first smoking experience was 8.2 years (SD = 1.7). Cigarettes were the most common form of smoking (16.5%), but children reported the use of other forms of smoking including water pipes (7.4%), cigars (3.9%), and marijuana (0.8%). These findings have important public health implications.

KEYWORDS:

• children
• smoking
• tobacco control
• water pipe

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Derek Noland, MPH, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine for language revision.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by project PRVOUK P25/LF1/2 and PROGRES Q25/LF1 of Charles University in Prague.