Objective

To determine associated factors to susceptibility to smoking in school students between 10 and 11 years old from Cartagena, Colombia.

Method

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with a nonrandom convenience sample of 289 students between 10 and 11 years old of sixth-grade from public schools in Cartagena, Colombia. The information was collected through the demographic profile, the scale of susceptibility to persuasion towards consumption, the family Apgar scale, Rosenberg for self-esteem and Zung anxiety scale, and the smoking use inventory together with the attitudes on it, according to the Encuesta Mundial Sobre Tabaquismo en jóvenes (Emtajoven).

Results

289 students, mean age 10,9 (SD = 0,25) participated, 157 (54,3%) were women and 132 (45,7%) were men. The frequency of cigarette consumption for at least once in their lives was 20 (6,9%), and the high persuasion susceptibility was 61 (21,1%). Factors associated with high persuasion susceptibility to smoking cigarette were: being male (OR: 2,8 and CI 95% 1,6 to 5,1), family dysfunction (OR: 2,3 CI 95% 1,2 to 4.2) and having ever smoked once in life (OR 3,4 CI 95% 1,3 to 8,7).

Conclusions

Susceptibility to smoking among students of 6th grade is associated with being male, family dysfunction and having ever smoked in life.