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Open Access 01-12-2022 | Research article

Sex and macroeconomic differences and trends in early attempts at cigarette smoking among adolescents: findings from 147 countries

Authors: Huaqing Liu, Qi Qi, Ying Duan, Chuanwei Ma, Chengchao Zhou

Published in: BMC Medicine | Issue 1/2022

Abstract

Background

Most tobacco users initiate smoking during adolescence. Little is known about the global prevalence and trends in early cigarette smoking among adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of early attempts at cigarette smoking and its change trends among young adolescents.

Methods

We used data from the Global Youth Tobacco Surveys on adolescents aged 12–16 years, comprising 456,634 participants from 147 countries between 2006 and 2018, to estimate the prevalence of early attempts at cigarette smoking and age distribution at attempt by sex, country income, purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita, and WHO region. We assessed the average annual rate of reduction (AARR) in the prevalence of attempts at cigarette smoking before 12 years of age in 70 countries that had data from three or more surveys completed between 1999 and 2018.

Results

The average prevalence of early attempts at cigarette smoking was 12.2% (95% CI: 10.9–13.5) for boys and 6.7% (95% CI: 5.8–7.6) for girls, with the highest prevalence of 17.4% for boys and 10.7% for girls in the European region. Along with the growth of the national economy, the prevalence of early attempts at cigarette smoking gradually increased in both sexes. A total of 22.9% and 30% of countries had a negative change in AARR for boys and for girls, respectively. The countries with an upward prevalence were mainly located in the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and African regions. The age distribution at first cigarette smoked did not differ substantially between sexes. Notably, the age at first cigarette smoked of 10.7 years for girls was significantly earlier than that of 11.8 years for boys in low-income countries. Among cigarette-smoking adolescents, the average percentage of girls reporting smoking their first cigarette at an age <12 years was 55.7% in Q1 for PPP quintiles, 46.5% in Q2, 40.3% in Q3, 38.4% in Q4, and 34.6% in Q5, and the corresponding prevalence for boys was 46.0% in Q1, 42.8% in Q2, 42.9% in Q3, 43.5% in Q4, and 41.1% in Q5.

Conclusions

The global prevalence of early attempts at cigarette smoking among adolescents was substantial, with differences by sex and macroeconomic situation, and our findings stress that interventions and policies targeting the first smoking experience are required to prevent the initiation of tobacco use among early adolescents, especially girls in low-income countries.

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Title: Sex and macroeconomic differences and trends in early attempts at cigarette smoking among adolescents: findings from 147 countries
Authors: Huaqing Liu
Qi Qi
Ying Duan
Chuanwei Ma
Chengchao Zhou
Publication date: 01-12-2022
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Medicine / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1741-7015
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-022-02512-z

ACC 2024 Congress

Springer Medicine

Sex and macroeconomic differences and trends in early attempts at cigarette smoking among adolescents: findings from 147 countries

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

ACC 2024 Congress

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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