A survey of smoking habits was carried out on 2447 males age 14-40 yea
rs. The subjects were athletes trained in a wide variety of sports. Ov
er-all 15.5% of the athlete population were smokers. When broken down
into training groups, the highest smoking prevalence was reported by s
ubjects not engaged in specific training, while the lowest prevalence
was reported by endurance trained athletes. When divided into specific
sports, the highest percent of group smoking was found in soccer play
ers. Smoking prevalence increased with increasing age. No significant
differences in smoking prevalence existed between groups of varying et
hnic origin. This study provides data on groups of atheletes to target
in smoking intervention programs.