TOBACCO ADVERTISEMENTS - ONE OF THE STRONGEST RISK-FACTORS FOR SMOKING IN HONG-KONG STUDENTS

The smoking status (95% confidence interval) was: (1) never smoker, 71 .1% (70.0%-72.2%), (2) tried only, 15.5% (14.6%-16.4%), (3) used to sm oke but not now, 4.2% (3.7-4.7%), (4) smoked < 1 cigarette per week, 2 .9% (2.5%-3.4%), (5) smoked 1-6 per week, 1.7% (1.4%-2.0%), and (6) sm oked > 6 per week, 4.5% (4.0%-5.0%). In a backward stepwise logistic r egression model, ever-smoking (including categories 2 to 6 above) was independently associated with thirteen factors, including gender (boys ), increasing age, place of birth (outside Hong Kong, mainly China), p oor knowledge of the hazards of smoking, positive attitudes to smoking -, smoking in family members, participation in tobacco promotional act ivities, and perception of cigarette advertisements as attractive. Amo ng the strongest associations observed was the youth's perception of c igarette advertisements as attractive, with the adjusted odds ratio (9 5% confidence interval) of 2.68 (2.33-3.07).