Tobacco use and other aspects related to smoking among school-going adolescents aged 13–15 years in Malaysia: Analysis of three cross-sectional nationally representative surveys in 2003, 2009 and 2016

Abstract

disease having been a major contributor to mortality since 1980 3 , with a third of diseases due to smoking 4. Several nationwide studies have reported that more than 70% of smokers started to smoke before the age of 18 years; this is in line with other studies conducted ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Periodic surveys on tobacco use patterns and other aspects of tobacco use among school-going adolescents in Malaysia provide information on the effectiveness of anti-smoking measures implemented. However, such information is limited in Malaysia. We investigated the prevalence of smoking and other related aspects among middle-secondary school students in Malaysia from the years 2003-2016 to fill this gap. METHODS We analyzed data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) 2003, GYTS 2009, and the Tobacco and Electronic Cigarette Survey among Malaysia Adolescents (TECMA) 2016. The surveys employed multistage sampling to select representative samples of adolescents attending secondary school in Malaysia. Data were collected using a pre-validated self-administered anonymous questionnaire adopted from the GYTS. RESULTS Between 2003 and 2016, major changes occurred in which there were reductions in the prevalence of ever smoking, current smoking, and susceptibility to smoking. Reductions were also observed in exposure to SHS in public places and in the home. The proportion of school-going adolescents who support a ban on smoking in public places increased between 2013 to 2016, and there was a significant reduction in the proportion of respondents that were offered 'free' cigarettes by tobacco company representatives. However, there was no difference in the proportion of adolescents who initiated smoking before the age of 10 years and current smokers seeking advice to quit smoking across the time period. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that the smoking policies and measures have been effective in reducing smoking prevalence, secondhand smoke exposure, and access to cigarettes, among school-going adolescents in Malaysia. However, measures to reduce smoking initiation and increase smoking cessation need to be strengthened to reduce the burden of smoking-related diseases in Malaysia in the long-term.

Correlates of dual/poly tobacco use among school-going adolescents in Malaysia: Findings from a nationwide school-based study

“…Therefore, the use of any tobacco product or other form of tobacco product by this group is the norm. Moreover, Malaysian society still holds on to traditions wherein the social norms governing female behavior may attribute to the reduced involvement of female respondents in smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products 2 .…”

“…This is expected to continue given the current trend, i.e. plateau in adult smoking prevalence, with small reduction in teen smoking prevalence over the past decade 2 . Studies have shown that smoking is a behavior initiated during adolescence 3 .…”

Community-based quit smoking intervention in Sarawak, Malaysia

“…The inaugural GYTS revealed that 20.2% of 13 to 15-year-old adolescents (36.3% males) and (4.2% females) smoked in 2003; however, an 18.2% decrease in active adolescent smokers was reported in 2009. In Malaysia, a more recent study depicted that 14.2% of 10 to 19-year-old adolescents smoked with a prevalence of 24.3% and 3.7% in males and females, respectively [8].…”