Resumo

PRECIOSO, José. Quando e porquê começam os estudantes universitários a fumar: Implicações para a prevenção. Aná. Psicológica [online]. 2004, vol.22, n.3, pp.499-506. ISSN 0870-8231.

The results of many studies on the tobacco consumption carried out in several western countries contributed to the generalization of the idea that most of the smokers start smoking in the adolescence (before 18 years old), and that if people don't start smoking in that period of life, hardly they acquire that habit later on. This presupposition led the specialists to concentrate the preventive efforts at school and mainly close to 12 to 15 years old students, supposedly the ones that would be in larger risk of starting smoking. The study, which we present in full detail in this article realized with about 388 university students, reveals that although most of the students has started smoking at high and secondary school (therefore in the adolescence), a high percentage of students (about 30%), particularly of female students (34%) started smoking at university. The studies show that contrarily to what happens in the most developed countries, the Portuguese population in general and university students in particular, start smoking later than it would be supposed, what leads to the need of doing a more effective prevention at high and secondary school, keeping on those efforts at university and starting the treatment process of those who are already tobacco addicted.

Palavras-chave : Smoking; prevention; health education.

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