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Tobacco use habits among Swedish female youth athletes and the influence of the social environment
Author(s) -
Rolandsson M,
Wagnsson S,
Hugoson A
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of dental hygiene
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.674
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1601-5037
pISSN - 1601-5029
DOI - 10.1111/idh.12065
Subject(s) - athletes , medicine , snus , tobacco use , chewing tobacco , environmental health , smokeless tobacco , demography , physical therapy , population , sociology , cancer
Aim This study examined the prevalence of tobacco habits and the influence of the social environment among Swedish female athletes representing both individual and team sports in Sweden. Material and method A self‐reported cross‐sectional survey was performed with 791 female athletes 15–24 years old representing ten of the most common sports in Sweden. The questions related to the participants' involvement in sports and their tobacco habits. Results Findings revealed that a large proportion of the female athletes had never smoked (65%) or used snus (74%). However, a considerable portion of the participants had tried smoking (27%) or using snus (20%), especially those involved in team sports. Results also showed statistically significant associations between female athletes' smoking habits and those of both their mothers and their peers, but not with the tobacco habits of their coaches, indicating that coaches do not influence the female athletes' use of tobacco. Conclusion In conclusion, this study indicated that the vast majority of female athletes did not use tobacco. A significant portion had sometimes tried tobacco, especially members of team sports, but this behaviour did not seem to be influenced by the tobacco habits of their coaches.