Children completed the questionnaire during September 1998. Overall, 5.4 percent of the children reported that they were regular smokers. Girls were more likely to smoke regularly than boys. Fourteen percent of regular smokers had tried smoking before the age of 8, and 40 percent were under the age of 10 when they first tried smoking. Among the regular smokers, 14 percent of boys had ever tried to quit or cut down compared with 7 percent of girls. Variables found to be independently associated with current smoking behavior were beliefs about smoking, social norms, social modeling, perceived behavior of others, pressure from others, and leisure activities. Findings suggest that smoking prevention and cessation activities should target not only the individual child but also the wider community, including the family. Intervention suggestions include changing the beliefs of children about smoking, including the myth that a large proportion of youth smoke; reducing smoking by siblings and family members; banning advertisements and promotional activities related to cigarettes; and the posting of antismoking public health information in public places frequently visited by youth. 8 tables and 38 references