Smoking among Norwegian schoolchildren 1975–1980: I. Extent of smoking in the age group 12–15 years, 1975

213600 pupils from grades 6–9 (age 12–15) in the primary school in Norway filled in a questionnaire about smoking habits (1975). The headmaster of each individual of the 2824 schools participating in the study filled in reports giving the local frequencies of daily smokers, occasional smokers and nonsmokers for each grade and for boys and girls separately. The school-reports also contained questions about demographical properties of the school. A sample of 6968 questionnaires from the pupils (those who were born on the sixth irrespective of month) were also submitted for statistical analysis. Compared with previous studies, the percentage of smokers among girls proved to have increased considerably. The tendency found in many western industrialized countries, that smoking is increasing among girls more than among boys, or that boys are reducing smoking to a greater extent than are girls, was confirmed also for Norway. In all 19 counties there was a higher percentage of daily smokers among girls than among boys. Higher percentages of occasional smokers or pupils who had tried smoking were found in small schools and scattered settlements. Norway may be divided into geographical areas according to the differences in the smoking habits of girls and boys. In the counties in the south and to the west, girls have not surpassed boys to the same extent as in the rest of the country. From previous political-cultural research it is known that the south and west is characterized by temperance and prohibition movements, higher frequencies of religious attendance, as well as a distintiveness in voting behaviour.