Rising worldwide adolescent smoking necessitates national and global research to establish intervention methods. This research evaluated the efficacies of ask, advise, assess, assist, arrange (5A’s) and ask, advise, act (3A’s) interventions. Self-reported quit-smoking attempts were the outcome measure. Six villages were randomly selected and equally divided into three groups: 5A’s, 3A’s, and control (no intervention). There were 519 current participant-smokers aged 13-17 followed-up by phone (first and third months) and face-to-face interviews (sixth and ninth months). Most 3A’s participants (n=12, 7.1%) quitted smoking in the first month, followed by the 5A’s (n=9, 5.3%) and the control (n=3, 1.9%). In the third month, 5A’s participants topped the rank (n=16, 10.7%), followed by the 3A’s (n=14, 9.2%), and control (n=5, 3.4%). As per sixth-month follow-up, the 5A’s group maintained its position on top of the list (n =27, 21.4%), followed by the 3A’s (n=22, 17.1%) and the control (n=5, 4.0%). The majority of 5A’s participants quitted smoking after nine months (n=36, 33.0%), followed by the 3A’s (n=27, 25.5%), while control maintained its position (n=5, 5.0%). Division health officers and school health-teams nationwide should implement them.

Introduction: Malnutrition is prevalent among children in developing countries. The cause of malnutrition, although complex, can be attributed to demographic factors, household food wastage, and food insecurity. This study aims to determine the under-five nutritional status of children and its association with household food wastage and food security in the Samarahan division in Sarawak, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 304 children from rural areas of Asajaya and Samarahan District using a random sampling technique. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from the parents. The nutritional status of the children was assessed by anthropometry. IBM SPSS Version 27.0 and WHO Anthro version 3.2.2 were used for data analysis. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Analysis revealed that 9.5% of the children were moderately wasted, followed by 5.9% who were severely wasted; 20.4% were moderately stunted and 8.9% were severely stunted. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that male gender (AOR = 1.931, 95% CI: 1.139, 3.274; p<0.05), low birth weight (AOR =2.645, 95% CI: 1.245, 5.618, p<0.05), poor appetite (AOR = 2.547; 95% CI: 1.298, 4.995, p<0.05), and preventive attitude (AOR = 0.460, 95% CI: 0.227, 0.929, p < 0.05) of household food wastage appeared to be significant predictors of nutritional status. However, household food insecurity had a negative correlation but did not significantly impact the nutritional status. Conclusion: Under-five malnutrition was prevalent in the study area and still a public health concern. Although the study did not find any significant association between household food wastage and food security towards the nutritional status of children, addressing the nutritional problem warranted an appropriate Public Health approach for the specific group, especially the modifiable risk factors such as birth weights, appetite, and attitude.