Abstract:
The ability to identify adolescents who are at risk for
becoming smokers may prove useful in developing effective
smoking prevention programs. The purpose of this stUdy was
to assess the importance of familial smoking behaviours on
adolescent smoking patterns. The results were based on
responses to The Grade 7 Lincoln County Smoking Survey
designed by Chudzik and Partington (1994), and are a part of
the "Peer Assisted Learning Program· (PAL) presented by the
Niagara Regional Health Services Department, with the cooperation
of a local Board of Education (Region of Niagara).
The results indicate that 12% of the total group of 450
Grade 7 student respondents were current smokers at the time
the data were collected (13% males and 11% females), while
more than 37% of individuals indicated that they had tried
smoking previously. Of the individuals who were classified
as smokers, 11% reported that they smoked because their
parents smoked, but only 6% reported that they smoked
because their siblings smoked. More concerning, however, is
the finding that 4% of smokers reported that they felt
pressured to smoke by their relatives. In a society that is
becoming increasingly concerned about health, it is also
alarming to observe that only 50% of the respondents within
this sample reported that there were no smokers
(parents/siblings) in their homes. The results also
indicate that 33% percent of respondents had grandparents
who continued to smoke, and 53% of respondents indentified
other relatives who continued to smoke.
