Abstract
BackgroundCigarette smoking habit usually begins in adolescence. The developing countries in South Asia like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, where the largest segment of the population is comprised of adolescents, are more susceptible to smoking epidemic and its consequences. Therefore, it is important to identify the association between anti-smoking initiatives and current smoking status in order to design effective interventions to curtail the smoking epidemic in this region.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of national data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted in Pakistan (year 2003), India (year 2006), Bangladesh (year 2007), and Nepal (year 2007). GYTS is a school-based survey of students targeting adolescents of age 13–15 years. We examined the association of different ways of delivering anti-smoking messages with students’ current smoking status.ResultsA total of 19,643 schoolchildren were included in this study. The prevalence of current smoking was 5.4% with male predominance. No exposure to school teachings, family discussions regarding smoking hazards, and anti-smoking media messages was significantly associated with current smoking among male students. Participants who were deprived of family discussion regarding smoking hazards (girls: odds ratio (OR) 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84–2.89, p value 0.152; boys: OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.04–1.80, p value 0.025), those who had not seen media messages (girls: OR 2.89, 95% CI 1.58–5.28, p value <0.001; boys: OR 1.32, 95% CI 0.91–1.88, p value 0.134), and those who were not taught the harmful effects of smoking at school (girls: OR 2.00, 95% CI 0.95–4.21, p value 0.066; boys: OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.44–2.48, p value <0.001) had higher odds of being current smokers after multivariate adjustment.ConclusionSchool-going adolescents in South Asia (Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh) who were not exposed to anti-tobacco media messages or were not taught about the harmful effects in school or at home had higher odds of being current smokers than their counterparts.
Highlights
IntroductionThe developing countries in South Asia like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, where the largest segment of the population is comprised of adolescents, are more susceptible to smoking epidemic and its consequences
Cigarette smoking habit usually begins in adolescence
Those with whom it was discussed in this term had higher odds of being current smokers (Table 3)
Summary
The developing countries in South Asia like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, where the largest segment of the population is comprised of adolescents, are more susceptible to smoking epidemic and its consequences. Evidence suggests that the cigarette smoking habit usually begins before the attainment of adulthood [1], and adolescents, in particular, are more prone to develop nicotine dependence [2]. This finding is of immense concern for countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, where cigarette smoking is highly prevalent among. Evidence is needed to prove the effectiveness of any anti-tobacco initiatives before their implementation. It is imperative to understand the particular socio-cultural context in this region, which may influence the youth's smoking behavior and may eventually affect their perception and response to anti-smoking initiatives
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