Correlates of current cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in the Kurdistan region of Iraq

Seter Siziya,Adamson S Muula,Emmanuel Rudatsikira

doi:10.1186/1752-1505-1-13

Seter Siziya, Adamson S Muula + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1505-1-13

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Abstract

BackgroundMany adult cigarette smokers initiated the habit as adolescents. Adolescent tobacco use may be a marker of other unhealthy behaviours. There are limited data on the prevalence and correlates of cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in Iraq. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of, and assess the socio-demographic correlates of current cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in Kurdistan region of Iraq.MethodsSecondary data analysis of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, conducted in the region of Kurdistan, Iraq in 2006. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between current cigarette smoking and explanatory variables.ResultsOne thousand nine hundred eighty-nine adolescents participated in the Kurdistan-Iraq Global Youth Tobacco Survey. Of these, 58.1% and 41.9% were boys and girls respectively. The overall prevalence of current cigarette smoking was 15.3%; 25.1% and 2.7% in boys and girls respectively. The factors associated with adolescent smoking were: parents' smoking, smoking in closest friends, male gender, having pocket money and perceptions that boys or girls who smoked were attractive.ConclusionWe suggest that public health interventions aimed to curb adolescent cigarette smoking should be designed, implemented and evaluated with due recognition to the factors that are associated with the habit.

Highlights

Many adult cigarette smokers initiated the habit as adolescents
This effort has largely been driven by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey Collaborating Group as part of the Global Tobacco Surveillance System initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Canadian Public Health Association
This study reported on the analysis of the Kurdistan-Iraq Global Youth Tobacco Survey

Summary

Introduction

Many adult cigarette smokers initiated the habit as adolescents. There are limited data on the prevalence and correlates of cigarette smoking among in-school adolescents in Iraq. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of, and assess the socio-demographic correlates of current cigarette smoking among inschool adolescents in Kurdistan region of Iraq. Over the past 10 years, there has been growing research interest to estimate the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents. This effort has largely been driven by the Global Youth Tobacco Survey Collaborating Group as part of the Global Tobacco Surveillance System initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, and the Canadian Public Health Association. Adolescent cigarette smoking is of public health significance. Smoking in adolescents may be a marker of other harmful lifestyles such as engagement in illicit drug use, alcohol use, psychiatric illnesses and sexual intercourse [4,5,6]

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