Prevalence and determinants of waterpipe tobacco use among adolescents in Oman

To assess the prevalence and determinants of waterpipe use among school-going adolescents in Oman. A cross-sectional, school-based study was conducted in 2003 involving 9 regions of Oman, as part of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey. Participants were requested to complete an anonymous questionnaire containing demographic characteristics, current and previous use of waterpipe tobacco, attitudes towards cigarette smoking, parents' and friends' cigarette smoking habits. Proportions were used to calculate prevalence rates and logistic regression analysis to obtain odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]. 1,962 students participated of whom 1,005 [51.2%] were males. Eighty-eight percent were between 13 and 16 years of age. Five hundred and twenty-two [26.6%] reported ever smoking waterpipe tobacco while 189 [9.6%] were current users. Among males, 155 [15.5%] were current users while among females only 24 [2.6%] smoked currently. Study participants were more likely to use waterpipe if they had a parent or friend who smoked cigarettes. Adolescents were, however, less likely to use waterpipe tobacco if they believed that cigarette smoking was harmful to health. Students who were receiving 500 Baisas [US$ 1.3] or more per day pocket money were more likely to use waterpipe tobacco compared to those receiving less [OR 3.3, 95% CI 2.3 to 4.6]. In multivariate analysis, the OR for males being a smoker of waterpipe tobacco compared to females was 4.46 [95% CI, 2.38 to 8.35]; while the OR for most or all friends smoking cigarettes compared to non-smoking was OR 5.65 [95% CI 2.87 to 11.13]. Study participants who perceived smoking as harmful to health were less likely to use waterpipe tobacco compared to those who did not believe smoking was harmful [OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.92] and those receiving 500 Baisas or more [OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.5 to 3.2]. Waterpipe smoking among Omani adolescents is an emerging public health concern. Efforts to prevent adolescent smoking should be designed with knowledge of associated factors of such behaviour and should include all forms of tobacco

Comparison of 1999 and 2003 current cigarette smoking behavior among jordanian adolescents: the global youth tobacco surveys

Adolescent cigarette smoking has received particular attention in the past two decades. Comparison of prevalence estimates trends is likely to inform public health intervention strategies. This study was conducted to compare the prevalence of current cigarette smoking among school going adolescents in Jordan between 1999 and 2003. Cross sectional, questionnaire-based study among school going adolescents in the Jordanian Global Youth Tobacco Survey 1999 and 2003. The overall prevalence of smoking in 1999 was 16.9% [95% CI 15.7%-18.1%] versus 15.5% [95% CI 14.5-16.5] in 2003. In terms of gender distribution 26.9% [95% CI 24.5%-29.3%] males were current smokers in 1999, while 20.0% [18.4%-21.6%] were smokers in 2003. 12.4% [95% CI 10.3%-14.5%] females were smokers in 1999 and 10.1% [95% CI 8.9%-11.2%] females were smokers in 2003. Thus comparing the 1999 estimates to the 2003 suggests that there has been an overall drop in prevalence of current smoking among school going adolescents in Jordan. Widespread antismoking public health interventions may have resulted in the observed reduction in current smoking prevalence in Jordan between 1999 and 2003. There is need to continue monitoring the trends in smoking among adolescents