Youth tobacco use in Latin America: What is the real extent of the problem?

Introduction: Cigarette consumption among teenagers is one of the most critical health-related risk behaviors. Method: Prospective study carried out in seven sites of five Latin American countries (Argentina [Cordoba, N = 958, Corrientes, N = 1013], Brazil [Curitiba, N = 650; Uruguaiana, N = 997], Cuba [Havana, N = 1004], Mexico [Veracruz, N = 991] and Paraguay [Ciudad del Este, N = 868]) with public-school adolescents (aged 12-19 years). Respondents were asked to answer the California Student Tobacco Survey. Results: 6550 adolescents took part in the survey (average age: 14 years). 38.5% (N = 2517) "tried smoking" and 37.5% started smoking before the age of 12. Sixty-one percent of adolescents think that cigarettes are easily accessible; 41.7% considered that smokers have more friends; 88% indicated knowledge of the harms of smoking one to five cigarettes per day; 58.9% would smoke new cigarette types with less harmful substances; 27.8% have already used e-cigarettes; 28% have smoked hookah. Fifty-seven point five percent have been, in the past seven days, in the same room with someone who was smoking a cigarette; and 30.5% indicated that there were not any no-smoking rules inside their homes. Identifiable risk factors were (logistic regression analysis): smoking cigarettes offered by friends, smoking cigarettes with less harmful substances, knowing what a hookah is, being in the same room with a smoker in the past week. Identifiable protective factors against tobacco use were: knowing the health risks caused by smoking hookah and to have their own room. Conclusion: Youth tobacco use in Latin America is a major public health concern, and tobacco control measures are highly needed

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Estudio comparativo sobre aprendizaje y eficacia de dos técnicas de relajación / Comparative study about learning and efficacy of two relaxation techniques

Entre los múltiples trabajos e investigaciones sobre técnicas de relajación que hemos revisado (ver bibliografía) casi nunca hemos encontrado comparaciones entre las diferentes técnicas. Dado que en nuestra futura profesión el tipo de paciente patología y características del proceso de rehabilitación nos van a determinar las técnicas apropiadas en cada caso, nos parecía interesante realizar un estudio experimental en el que, utilizando sujetos sin patologías previas aparentes, pudiéramos contrastar el proceso de aprendizaje y posterior eficacia en la utilización de los tres tipos de técnicas más habitualmente practicados, a saber: - Entrenamiento en relajación muscular progresiva.- Visualización y respiración. Como objetivo secundario figuraba también el poder comprobar la posible aparición de diferencias individuales o preferencias entre los sujetos a la hora de recurrir a una u otra técnica una vez dominadas las tres (AU)