Focus group findings of smoking onset among Chinese male teenagers and implications for antismoking interventions

Research on smoking onset among male youth serves as an empirical basis for enacting effective smoking preventions in China. To provide rich, contextual insights into the body of predominantly quantitative research, this study employed 20 field focus groups of male teenagers (N = 165) in two provinces in China. Results offer in-depth information regarding the earlier smoking occasions, reasons for earlier smoking, initial physical reactions, and smoking experimentation patterns. Home and school were found as two central locations where most of the earlier smoking was reported. Suggestions for home- and school-anchored antismoking interventions are provided. Challenges for efficacious interventions are discussed.