Objective:

To estimate smoking prevalences in a sample of young people from the Eje Cafetero region, according to the 2017 Colombian National Youth Smoking Survey.

Materials and methods:

We conducted a prevalence study with a descriptive level, in which we performed a secondary analysis of the 2017 Colombian National Youth Smoking Survey (ENTJ). A total of 3,143 young people from the Eje Cafetero region participated, of which 50 % were female and 49.6 % male, from seventh to eleventh grades.

Results:

27.5 % (95 % CI 26.0-29.1) of participants have smoked cigarettes, and 8.3 % (95 % CI 7.4-9.3) have used e-cigarettes. Of the surveyed youth, 20.8 % (95 % CI 19.4-22.2) reported smoking any tobacco product. 22.4 % of participants reported that they started smoking before the age of 13 years, and 7 % started smoking smokeless tobacco before the age of 15 years.

Conclusion:

It is important to improve the effectiveness of tobacco warnings and the prohibition of advertising and promotion of tobacco products, especially in digital media. In addition, it highlights the need to implement stricter regulatory measures to reduce youth access to tobacco products and to combat illicit tobacco trade.

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