There are undesirable consequences of early
commencement of sexual activity among adolescents which
include human immunodeficiency virus infection and
unwanted pregnancy. The objective of the study was to
determine associations of cigarette smoking and close
friendships with ever having had sexual intercourse among
school-going adolescents in Mauritania. Secondary analysis
of 2010 Mauritania Global School-based Health Survey
data was conducted. Associations were established using
weighted logistic regression analysis. A total of 2,063
students participated in the survey of which 43.5% were
males. A third (33.2%) of students reported ever had sexual
intercourse. Compared to female adolescents, males were
15% (AOR=1, 15, 95% CI [1.13, 1.17]) more likely to
report having had sexual intercourse. Overall, adolescents
who smoked cigarettes were more likely (AOR=2.01, 95%
CI [1.96, 2.06]) to report having had sexual intercourse
compared to non-smokers. Having close friends was
negatively associated with sexual intercourse (AOR=0.64,
95% CI [0.62, 0.67]). Future work is needed to develop and
employ measures that would prevent early sexual
intercourse using the factors identified in the current study.