142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Current Use of Smokeless Tobacco Products in Seven Countries in the South-East Asia Region: Results from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Candace Kirksey Jones, MA, MPH, CHES , Global Tobacco Control Branch, Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, GA
Krishna Palipudi, PhD , Global Tobacco Control Branch, Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, GA
Dhirendra Sinha, MD, PhD , World Health Organization, New Delhi 110002, India
Samira Asma, DDS, MPH , Global Tobacco Control Branch, Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, GA
Tobacco is one of four major risk factors for non-communicable diseases and kills nearly 6 million people annually. Smokeless tobacco use is a growing problem among youth, particularly in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR). This paper examines the levels and trends in current smokeless tobacco use (SLT) using data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted from 2006 to 2013 in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste.

GYTS is a nationally representative school-based survey of grades associated with ages 13 to 15 using a consistent, standard protocol across countries. Current use is defined as using a tobacco product within the past 30 days. SAS and SUDAAN were used to calculate prevalences and 95% confidence intervals.

Five countries increased in prevalence of smokeless tobacco products (SLT) use for the two most recent survey rounds. The prevalence more than doubled in Nepal from 6.1% (4.5-8.2) in 2007 to 16.2% (13.2-19.6) in 2011. Boys had a significantly higher prevalence of SLT use than girls in one or both survey rounds in five countries. In Myanmar 2011, the prevalence for boys was 15.2% (11.3-20.2), and for girls it was 4.0% (2.8-5.6). SLT use was higher than that of cigarette smoking in five countries.

Most countries increased in prevalence of current use of smokeless tobacco products, and boys had a higher prevalence of SLT use than girls. Implementing comprehensive tobacco control measures including mass-media campaigns and other interventions in the MPOWER framework should be an urgent priority in this region.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss trends in the use of smokeless tobacco products among youth in the South-East Asia Region

Keyword(s): Tobacco Use, International Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked on global youth tobacco projects for more than one year and as a statistician/epidemiologist for more than four years. I have a background in Public Health, Science Education, and Statistics.I have worked in the field of public health on the local and federal levels for more than 8 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4370.0: Beyond Boundaries: Global Tobacco Control