Age of smoking initiation among adolescents in Africa

Sreenivas P. Veeranki (), Rijo M. John, Abdallah Ibrahim, Divya Pillendla, James F. Thrasher, Daniel Owusu, Ahmed E. O. Ouma and Hadii M. Mamudu
Additional contact information
Sreenivas P. Veeranki: University of Texas Medical Branch
Rijo M. John: Indian Institute of Technology
Abdallah Ibrahim: University of Ghana
Divya Pillendla: University of Texas Medical Branch
James F. Thrasher: University of South Carolina
Daniel Owusu: East Tennessee State University
Ahmed E. O. Ouma: WHO Regional Office for Africa
Hadii M. Mamudu: University of South Carolina

International Journal of Public Health, 2017, vol. 62, issue 1, No 7, 63-72

Abstract: Abstract Objectives To estimate prevalence and identify correlates of age of smoking initiation among adolescents in Africa. Methods Data (n = 16,519) were obtained from nationally representative Global Youth Tobacco Surveys in nine West African countries. Study outcome was adolescents’ age of smoking initiation categorized into six groups: ≤7, 8 or 9, 10 or 11, 12 or 13, 14 or 15 and never-smoker. Explanatory variables included sex, parental or peer smoking behavior, exposure to tobacco industry promotions, and knowledge about smoking harm. Weighted multinomial logit models were conducted to determine correlates associated with adolescents’ age of smoking initiation. Results Age of smoking initiation was as early as ≤7 years; prevalence estimates ranged from 0.7 % in Ghana at 10 or 11 years age to 9.6 % in Cote d’Ivoire at 12 or 13 years age. Males, exposures to parental or peer smoking, and industry promotions were identified as significant correlates. Conclusions West African policymakers should adopt a preventive approach consistent with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to prevent an adolescent from initiating smoking and developing into future regular smokers.

Keywords: Adolescent; Age of smoking initiation; Global Youth Tobacco Survey; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00038-016-0888-7 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ijphth:v:62:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s00038-016-0888-7

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/00038

DOI: 10.1007/s00038-016-0888-7

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Thomas Kohlmann, Nino Künzli and Andrea Madarasova Geckova

More articles in International Journal of Public Health from Springer, Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().