Prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among adolescents in secondary schools in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria
-
Joyce Okagua
,
Peace Opara
Abstract
Background: Cigarette smoking remains a major preventable public health problem associated with premature deaths worldwide. Adolescence is a unique developmental stage between childhood and adulthood. Smoking is a lifestyle habit acquired during adolescence and into adulthood, with its associated morbidity and mortality. It is therefore important to determine the factors associated with cigarette smoking in these adolescents in order to institute preventive measures and health policies to protect these adolescents early.
Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence of smoking, factors associated with smoking, and knowledge of the harmful effects of smoking in these adolescents.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 1120 adolescents aged 10–19 years selected from 10 secondary schools in Port Harcourt was conducted using a multistage sampling technique. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) core questionnaire was used to collect data from the subjects. A smoker was defined as one who had ever smoked a cigarette or who had one or two puffs, while a current smoker was defined as one who had taken a puff or smoked cigarettes in the last 30 days preceding the day of the questionnaire’s completion.
Results: Eighty subjects (7.1%) were smokers. This was significantly (p=<0.001) higher in males (9.7%) than in females (4%). Thirty seven (3.3%) subjects were current smokers. The mean age at which smoking was initiated was 12.47±3.0 years. Twenty six (32.5%) of the smokers reported that they were initiated into cigarette smoking by their friends, 36 (45%) just wanted to experiment, 7 (8.8%) were influenced by media advertisements while 5 (6.3%) were due to parental exposure. Parental history of smoking and poor knowledge of cancer of the lungs as a harmful effect of smoking, was significantly (p=<0.05) associated with cigarette smoking.
Conclusion: The prevalence of smoking in adolescents in Port Harcourt is high and is associated with parental smoking and poor knowledge of cancer of the lungs as a harmful effect. We recommend that adolescent health education with an emphasis on the harmful effects of smoking be included in the curriculum of all secondary schools.
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©2016 by De Gruyter
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Smoking: do you really know the risk?
- Original Articles
- Practices and perceptions of adolescent girls regarding the impact of dysmenorrhea on their routine life: a comparative study in the urban, rural, and slum areas of Chandigarh
- Needs and expectations of adolescent in-patients: the experience of Gaslini Children’s Hospital
- Prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among adolescents in secondary schools in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria
- Comprehensive obesity evaluation and treatment of three adolescents: a case series
- Exercise, bodyweight perception and related weight loss behavior among adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago
- Oral health habits, attitudes and behaviors of Portuguese adolescents
- Using UV photoaged photography to better understand Western Australian teenagers’ attitudes towards adopting sun-protective behaviors
- Adolescent pesticide exposures reported to Texas poison centers
- Can a healthy youth development clinic serving latino families be youth friendly and family oriented? A mixed-methods evaluation
- Insights into Facebook Pages: an early adolescent health research study page targeted at parents
- Iranian adolescents’ insufficient physical activity: a mixed methods explanatory sequential study
- Sensation seeking indirectly affects perceptions of risk for co-occurrent substance use
- The understanding of risk factors for eating disorders in male adolescents
- Case Reports
- The role of temperament in traumatic hearing loss: a single case study of a cochlear-implanted patient
- Congenital megalourethra: a case report of an isolated delayed presentation
- Short Communication
- Problematic internet use and social networking site use among Dutch adolescents
- Letter to the Editor
- A teen’s perspective: adolescent access to their own electronic medical records
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Smoking: do you really know the risk?
- Original Articles
- Practices and perceptions of adolescent girls regarding the impact of dysmenorrhea on their routine life: a comparative study in the urban, rural, and slum areas of Chandigarh
- Needs and expectations of adolescent in-patients: the experience of Gaslini Children’s Hospital
- Prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among adolescents in secondary schools in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria
- Comprehensive obesity evaluation and treatment of three adolescents: a case series
- Exercise, bodyweight perception and related weight loss behavior among adolescents in Trinidad and Tobago
- Oral health habits, attitudes and behaviors of Portuguese adolescents
- Using UV photoaged photography to better understand Western Australian teenagers’ attitudes towards adopting sun-protective behaviors
- Adolescent pesticide exposures reported to Texas poison centers
- Can a healthy youth development clinic serving latino families be youth friendly and family oriented? A mixed-methods evaluation
- Insights into Facebook Pages: an early adolescent health research study page targeted at parents
- Iranian adolescents’ insufficient physical activity: a mixed methods explanatory sequential study
- Sensation seeking indirectly affects perceptions of risk for co-occurrent substance use
- The understanding of risk factors for eating disorders in male adolescents
- Case Reports
- The role of temperament in traumatic hearing loss: a single case study of a cochlear-implanted patient
- Congenital megalourethra: a case report of an isolated delayed presentation
- Short Communication
- Problematic internet use and social networking site use among Dutch adolescents
- Letter to the Editor
- A teen’s perspective: adolescent access to their own electronic medical records
