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Prevalence and associated factors to cigarette smoking among school adolescents in Tunisia, 2021

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2023

A. Silini ,
S. Rejaibi ,
M. Zid ,
S. Ben Youssef ,
N. Zoghlami ,
R. Mallekh ,
I. Ben Slema ,
N. Ben Salah  and
H. Aounallah-Skhiri
A. Silini*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Nutrition Surveillance and Epidemiology department, SURVEN Research Laboratory
S. Rejaibi
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Nutrition Surveillance and Epidemiology department, SURVEN Research Laboratory Medical Faculty of Medicine, Tunis El Manar University
M. Zid
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health
S. Ben Youssef
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health
N. Zoghlami
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health
R. Mallekh
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health
I. Ben Slema
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health
N. Ben Salah
Affiliation:
Medical Faculty of Medicine, Tunis El Manar University Intensive Care Unit department, Center for Urgent Medical Assistance, Tunis, Tunisia
H. Aounallah-Skhiri
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Nutrition Surveillance and Epidemiology department, SURVEN Research Laboratory Medical Faculty of Medicine, Tunis El Manar University
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Tobacco use among youth is a real public health concern in most developing countries. To provide recent epidemiological data regarding tobacco use among this specific population, a national survey was conducted in Tunisia in 2021. We aimed to determine cigarette smoking prevalence in Tunisian adolescents and assess associated factors.

Objectives

We aimed to determine cigarette smoking prevalence in Tunisian adolescents and assess associated factors.

Methods

Data from the Mediterranean school survey on alcohol and other drugs (MedSPAD 2021) were used. Based on three-stage stratification sampling method, first and second grade high school students were enrolled. A self-administered standardized questionnaire was used and weighted prevalence estimates for cigarette smoking “at least once in a lifetime” were studied. Binary logistic regression model was used to assess associated factors and Adjusted Odds Ratios (AORs) were presented. The independent factors included were: sex, area of residence, private or public sector, alcohol and cannabis use, and being exposed to tobacco smoking in family and peer’s environment. Epidata and STATA software were used for data entry and statistical analysis, respectively.

Results

Among 6.201 participants with a mean age of 16.8 years, 60.4% were girls; the prevalence of cigarette smoking was 24,75% 95% CI [23.24,26.32], significantly higher among boys (41.1% versus 14.2%, p<10-3). Univariate analysis revealed a significant difference in cigarette smoking by region (p-value< 10-4). The highest prevalence of cigarette smoking was observed in the capital city. Cigarettes were perceived as easily accessible by less than a third of the students (38.46% and 20.94% of boys and girls respectively, p=10-4). In multivariable analysis, the only independently associated factor to this behaviour was male sex (AOR=1.5[0.15 – 2.9], p-value=0.03).

Conclusions

Our study revealed a high prevalence of smoking among students with male sex as an associated factor. Developing a healthy school environment and implementing school-based intervention programs are therefore, highly required.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 66 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 31st European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2023 , pp. S865 - S866
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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