Introduction:

All over the world 5.4 million people die due to tobacco related diseases per year. Considering that teenagers are highly impressionable by media in tobacco consumption, they constitute the population of interest in order to diminish the use of tobacco and the morbidity associated with its use.

Objective:

To identify factors associated at the beginning of tobacco consumption.

Methodology:

Descriptive cross-sectional study using a poll created from a questionnaire on tobacco by Center of Disease Control and Prevention, with a sample of smokers, over 18, selected in the most popular smoking areas at Universidad Javeriana, Bogota – Colombia.

Results:

The most frequent factors related to the beginning of tobacco consumption were: Peer pressure (34.6%), curiosity (24.7%) and stress (17.6%). The average starting smoking age was 14.3 (±1.9).

Conclusion

The low capacity of opposing social pressure at parties and recreational events showed as the most important factor at the beginning of a smoking habit.

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