DETERMINANTS OF CURRENT CIGARETTE SMOKING AMONG CHINESE YOUTH: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONAL SURVEY

Two thirds of the youth become daily smokers before reaching 25 years of age, and few quit smoking in China. Unlike their counterparts in western countries, Chinese youth have limited knowledge about the harm that smoking can cause, which places them at risk of negative outcomes. Based on the data from 1st National Youth Reproductive Health Survey in 2009, using binominal and ordered probit models with a Heckman’s two-stage estimation procedure, this study examines the socio-demographic and life-style related determinants explaining both cigarette smoking and its frequency, respectively. The results indicate that both the occurrence of cigarette smoking and the frequency of cigarette smoking are mainly associated with lifestyle-related variables covering other nonsexual risk behaviors and sexual behavior. The conclusions reflect an urgent need for exploring the relationship between cigarette smoking and other health risk behaviors will be helpful for designing further tobacco control interventions among Chinese youth.