ABSTRACT
Within the framework of the fight against tobacco among young people, we conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study in 2013 to estimate the prevalence of smoking and to identify associated factors among students in Sousse. A questionnaire was administered to a representative sample of 556 students in 5 academic institutions in Sousse randomly drawn. The age of the participants was between 17 and 35 years. The prevalence le of tobacco consumption in the past 12 months was 22.1% and consumption during the past 3 months was 65.3%. The average age of starting smoking was 17 years. Smoking prevalence was significantly higher for males [P <0.001] and those aged over 25 years [P-0.002]. Students from 2 of the institutions were using more tobacco than their colleagues in the other institutions [P= 0.027]. The high prevalence of smoking found among the students means that prevention measures are essential; this requires increasing self-esteem and evaluating intervention programmes implemented before smoking the first cigarette