Smoking prevention and cessation among Romanian young people - a review of the literature

摘要

Introduction: Smoking among young people is an important public health problem. Aim and objectives: This study has two objectives. The first one is to evaluate the status of the research concerning prevalence of tobacco consumption, factors which influence it and associated behaviors among Romanian youth. The second one is to present educational programs and tobacco control measures aimed at smoking prevention and cessation among Romanian young people developed in the last 13 years. Methods: The information are based on data from literature such as articles published in peer-reviewed journals, national and international reports, legislation as well as experience in this field of the authors. Results: There are several international studies which included also Romania regarding smoking behavior among youth (Global Youth Tobacco Survey, Health behavior in school aged children) as well as cross-sectional and longitudinal studies investigating the factors associated with smoking. There were several projects developed in the last years aimed at smoking prevention and cessation among different age groups of youth and one of them (I do not smoke) was also evaluated through a randomized controlled trial, showing positive results. Several tobacco control measures such as ban of smoking in public places, warning pictorials on cigarette packages, increase of the cigarette price were also noticed in the last years. Conclusions: The review presents the context and challenges of smoking prevention and cessation for youth in Romania and makes recommendations for future actions in this field.