Péter Huszka

Associate university professor

Department of Marketing &Management

Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics

Széchenyi István University

Győr, Hungary

Is early smoking a fashion trend or a defensive mechanism? – study

on consumer behaviour among students

E-mail: huszkap@sze.hu

László Józsa

University professor

Department of Marketing &Management

Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics

Széchenyi István University

Győr, Hungary

E-mail: jozsa@sze.hu

Ida Ercsey

Associate university professor

Department of Marketing &Management

Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics

Széchenyi István University

Győr, Hungary

E-mail: ercsey@sze.hu

ABSTRACT. Health status in Hungary has been deteriorating since the mid-1960s, resulting that Hungary is behind the developed health cultures - mainly Western European – countries. Considering these facts, our scientific interest turned to the examination of health awareness, drinking and smoking habits, healthy lifestyles, state of health and environmental awareness of adolescents and youngsters. To realize these tasks, during the set-up of the sample our aim was to provide representativeness and randomness. The research found that those pupils, who had a harmonious relationship with their parents, maintained a lower level (substance use) smoking and smoking frequency characteristic. No less important is the observation that youngsters try the cigarettes more and more early, but they are far too optimistic in assessing their own health.

Received: December, 2013

1st Revision: February, 2014

Accepted: March, 2014

DOI:10.14254/2071-789X.2014/7-1/13

JEL Classification:  P36

Keywords: adolescents, health behaviour, smoking, consumer behaviour.