Global Youth Tobacco Survey Data Research Articles

The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS): linking data to the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

The World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Canadian Public Health Association developed the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS) to assist WHO member states in establishing continuous tobacco control surveillance and monitoring. The GTSS provides a flexible system that includes common data items but allows countries to include important unique information at their discretion. It also uses a common survey methodology, similar field procedures for data collection, and similar data management and processing techniques. The GTSS includes collection of data through three surveys: the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) for youth, and the Global School Personnel Survey and the Global Health Professional Student Survey for adults. Countries can use data from the GYTS to monitor and evaluate National Tobacco Control Action Plans and articles from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The WHO FCTC was adopted by the 56th World Health Assembly in May 2003 and became international law on February 27, 2005. It is the world's first public health treaty on tobacco control and encourages countries that ratify to develop and implement tobacco control policies, such as bans on direct and indirect tobacco advertising, tobacco tax and price increases, promoting of smoke-free public places and workplaces, and placement of health messages on tobacco packaging. The WHO FCTC, National Tobacco Control Action Plans, and the GYTS share the same goal: the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective tobacco control programs in all WHO member states. What the WHO FCTC and National Tobacco Control Action Plans ask countries to monitor, the GYTS can help to measure. The GYTS provides indicators for measuring achievement of several WHO FCTC articles (surveillance and monitoring, prevalence, exposure to secondhand smoke, school-based tobacco control, cessation, media and advertising, and minor's access and availability). The synergy between the WHO FCTC, National Tobacco Control Action Plans, and GYTS offers countries a unique opportunity to develop, implement, and evaluate their comprehensive tobacco control programs. The reports included in this publication from Peru, Thailand, and Turkey are presented as examples of 'linking' GYTS data to the national tobacco control program efforts in each country.

Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Among Students Aged 13-15 Years—Worldwide, 2000-2007

Breathing secondhand smoke (SHS) causes heart disease and lung cancer in adults and increased risks for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, middle-ear disease, worsened asthma, respiratory symptoms, and slowed lung growth in children. No risk-free level of exposure to SHS exists. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), initiated in 1999 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Canadian Public Health Association, and CDC includes questions related to tobacco use, including exposure to SHS. This report examines data collected from 137 jurisdictions (i.e., countries and territories) during 2000-2007, presents estimates of exposure to SHS at home and in places other than the home among students aged 13-15 years who had never smoked, and examines the association between exposure to SHS and susceptibility to initiating smoking. GYTS data indicated that nearly half of never smokers were exposed to SHS at home (46.8%), and a similar percentage were exposed in places other than the home (47.8%). Never smokers exposed to SHS at home were 1.4-2.1 times more likely to be susceptible to initiating smoking than those not exposed. Students exposed to SHS in places other than the home were 1.3-1.8 times more likely to be susceptible to initiating smoking than those not exposed. As part of their comprehensive tobacco-control programs, countries should take measures to create smoke-free environments in all indoor public places and workplaces.

Prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among adolescents in Blantyre City, Malawi

Tobacco smoking is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive airways disease and several cancers. There is little data about the prevalence and determinants of smoking among adolescents in southern Africa. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among adolescents in Blantyre City, Malawi. Cross-sectional data were obtained from school-going adolescents in Blantyre in 2001 using the Global Youth Tobacco Survey data collection instrument. Data were analysed to determine prevalence of current and ever cigarette smoking, and predictors of smoking. The prevalence of current smoking and ever smoking were 3.0% and 15.6%, respectively. Predictors of current tobacco smoking included male gender, having friends or parents who smoked, having been exposed to advertisements about tobacco brands on television and having seen a lot of advertisements in newspapers and magazines. School programmes that included being taught about smoking in class and a class discussion on the dangers of tobacco were not associated with reduced current smoking. Intervention programmes aiming to curb tobacco smoking among adolescents should focus on dealing also with parental smoking, peer influence and pay special attention toward male gender. School-based programmes to prevent smoking should be evaluated as some may have little impact in influencing current smoking status.

Use of Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Among Students Aged 13-15 Years—Worldwide, 1999-2005

The use of tobacco in any form is a major preventable cause of premature death and disease. Globally, nearly 5 million persons die every year from tobacco-related illnesses, with disproportionately higher mortality occurring in developing countries. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), initiated in 1999 by the World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, and the Canadian Public Health Association, is a school-based survey that includes questions on prevalence of cigarette and other tobacco use; attitudes toward tobacco; access to tobacco products; exposure to secondhand smoke, school curricula on tobacco, media, and advertising; and smoking cessation. This report presents estimates of self-reported cigarette and other tobacco-product use during 1999-2005 in 132 different countries and the Gaza Strip/West Bank. The data are aggregated within each of the six WHO regions. GYTS data indicate that nearly two of every 10 students reported currently using a tobacco product, with no statistically significant difference between the proportion of those reporting cigarette smoking (8.9%) and other tobacco use (11.2%). Use of tobacco by adolescents is a major public health problem in all six WHO regions. Worldwide, more countries need to develop, implement, and evaluate their tobacco-control programs to address the use of all types of tobacco products, especially among girls.