The dynamics of tobacco smoking among male educated youths in Aleppo-Syria

Understanding the dynamics of the smoking habit among youths at different s tages of their development is crucial for the adoption of effective tobacco control policies. We looked at the smoking habits of 576 male university s tudents and compared it with previously studied 555 male high school studen ts in Aleppo-Syria, stratified into four groups with 2-year interval each. The prevalence of current smoking among 1st and 3rd year university student s is 18.2% and 29.4% respectively, compared to 10.5% and 22.6% among 10th a nd 12th year high school students respectively. This study shows a late ons et initiation of regular forms of smoking compared to patterns seen in deve loped countries.