Individuals who had tried smoking or smoked regularly (at least one cigarette every day for 30 days) but were not current smokers were considered past smokers.
Age-adjusted associations were attenuated after adjustment for age at starting to smoke regularly and smoking status but did not change appreciably after additional inclusion of the other covariates.
In particular, greater attention to public health prevention and intervention has been directed at women who smoke regularly because smoking rates among women, particularly girls and young women, are increasing in most developed and developing regions.
The former smokers, who smoked at least 100 cigarettes in life or who had ever smoked regularly and reported not smoking at the interview time, were considered as having quit smoking.
Individuals who had smoked regularly but who had stopped smoking at least 1 year before the interview were defined as former smokers.
Depression is more often been reported by students who smoke regularly than by non-smoking students [ 16- 18].
Former smokers were asked how long they had smoked regularly and how many cigarettes they smoked daily while smoking most often.
In the study by Nilsson and Emmelin [ 27], youth who smoked regularly described themselves as belonging to a "smoking community" (p.4).
Smokers were categorized as never smokers, who had never smoked regularly; past smokers, who had smoked regularly but had stopped smoking more than one year ago; and current smokers, who had smoked regularly.
