Abstract
Georgia has high smoking rates; however, little is known about the prevalence and correlates of youth smoking. We conducted a secondary data analysis of a 2010 cross-sectional survey of 1,879 secondary and postsecondary school students aged 15 to 24 years in Tbilisi, Georgia, examining substance use, perceived risk, and recreational activities in relation to lifetime and current (past 30 days) smoking. Lifetime and current smoking prevalence was 46.1% and 22.6%, respectively. In secondary schools, lifetime smoking correlates included being male, consuming alcohol, lifetime marijuana use, and lower perceived risk (P's ≤ .001). Correlates of current smoking among lifetime smokers included being male, consuming alcohol, lifetime marijuana use, lower perceived risk, less frequently exercise, and more often going out (P's < .05). In postsecondary schools, lifetime smoking correlates included being male, consuming alcohol, lifetime marijuana use, lower perceived risk, more often going out, and recreational internet use (P's < .0). Correlates of current smoking among lifetime smokers included being male (P's = .04), consuming alcohol, marijuana use, lower perceived risk, and more often going out (P's < .05). Tobacco control interventions might target these correlates to reduce smoking prevalence in Georgian youth.
Highlights
There are an estimated 1.3 billion adult smokers among the world’s six billion people, with increases anticipated [1]
Some variables that might influence smoking may be intrapersonal factors such as sociodemographics, substance use behaviors, and attitudes toward smoking and smoking-related policies; interpersonal factors such as social exposure to smokers; community or organizational factors such as prevalence of smoking in their community, social norms within their community, or exposure to tobacco advertising; or public policies including those that regulate advertising, taxation, or smoke-free policies in public places. Drawing from this perspective, the current study focuses on individual-level factors including nonmodifiable factors such as sociodemographic characteristics as well as modifiable factors including substance use behaviors and involvement in activities with the potential for social influence on smoking initiation and maintenance among youth in Tbilisi, Georgia
This study was conducted among 15–18-year-old secondary school students and 18–24-year-old postsecondary school students in Tbilisi in order to fill the gap in current data about the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of youth in Tbilisi
Summary
There are an estimated 1.3 billion adult smokers among the world’s six billion people, with increases anticipated [1]. More than six million people die every year as a consequence of tobacco smoking [5]. In 2000, an estimated 4.83 million deaths were attributed to cigarette smoking globally. Four-fifths of current smokers live in low- and middle-income counties (LMICs) [5]. Many LMICs are still in early stages of the tobacco epidemic; the number of smoking-related deaths in these nations is likely to increase [3, 6, 7]. Mortality will increase to 8.3 million a year by 2030, and 80% of these deaths will occur in LMICs [5]
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