Social class and smoking at age 15: the effect of different definitions of smoking

AIM: To explore whether the association between social class and smoking among teenagers varies according to the definition of smoking adopted. Design, setting and participants. A survey of 2196 15-year-olds in 43 secondary schools in the West of Scotland. MEASURES: Current smoking status and number of cigarettes smoked, and social class based on the occupation of the head of the household. FINDINGS: 'Current smoker' was the only category not significantly differentiated by class; the ratio of smokers from unskilled compared with professional backgrounds rose with increasingly stringent definitions of smoking. CONCLUSION: The extent to which teenage smoking is patterned by social class depends on the definition of smoking adopted.