Smoking among Norwegian schoolchildren 1975–1980: II. The influence of the social environment

In 1975 all primary schools in Norway were asked to carry out local studies of the smoking habits of all pupils in grades 6–9 (age 12–15). A sample of 6968 questionnaires from the pupils (those born on the sixth irrespective of month) forms the empirical basis of the present study. Among ninth graders (age 15) coming from homes where both parents smoked and the children were permitted to smoke, 67% of the boys and 78% of the girls smoked daily. Among children from homes where both parents were non-smokers and did not permit their children to smoke, only 9% of the boys and 11 % of the girls smoked daily. The probability of being a daily smoker can to a great extent be regarded as the additive effect of milieu predictors. When both parents smoke, older sisters and brothers smoke, best friend smokes, and the pupils are permitted to smoke, practically all 15 year olds were daily smokers. On the contrary, an environment of non-smokers and with no permission to smoke reduces the probability of being a daily smoker to almost zero.