Current Tobacco Smoking and Desire to Quit Smoking Among Students Aged 13–15 Years — Global Youth Tobacco Survey, 61 Countries, 2012–2015

• Published in: MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report Vol. 66; no. 20; pp. 533 - 537
• Main Authors: Arrazola, René A., Ahluwalia, Indu B., Pun, Eugene, de Quevedo, Isabel Garcia, Babb, Stephen, Armour, Brian S.
• Format: Journal Article Newsletter
• Language: English
• Published: United States Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 26.05.2017; U.S. Government Printing Office; U.S. Center for Disease Control; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Adolescent; Chronic illnesses; Cigarettes; Disease prevention; Female; Full Report; Global Health - statistics & numerical data; Health insurance; Health Surveys; Humans; Juvenile drug abuse; Male; Motivation; Prevalence; Public health; Smoking; Smoking - epidemiology; Smoking - psychology; Smoking cessation; Smoking Cessation - psychology; Students; Students - psychology; Students - statistics & numerical data; Surveys; Tobacco; Tobacco products; Youth; Youth smoking; Tajikistan; East Timor; Argentina; Sri Lanka; Philippines; Seychelles; Timor-Leste; Paraguay; Nicaragua; Pakistan; Bosnia-Hercegovina; Jordan (country); San Marino; Bulgaria
• ISSN: 0149-2195; 1545-861X
• DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6620a3

Tobacco use is the world's leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality, resulting in nearly 6 million deaths each year (1). Smoked tobacco products, such as cigarettes and cigars, are the most common form of tobacco consumed worldwide (2), and most tobacco smokers begin smoking during adolescence (3). The health benefits of quitting are greater for persons who stop smoking at earlier ages; however, quitting smoking at any age has health benefits (4). CDC used the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) data from 61 countries across the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions from 2012 to 2015 to examine the prevalence of current tobacco smoking and desire to quit smoking among students aged 13-15 years. Across all 61 countries, the median current tobacco smoking prevalence among students aged 13-15 years was 10.7% (range = 1.7%, Sri Lanka to 35.0%, Timor-Leste). By sex, the median current tobacco smoking prevalence was 14.6% among males (range = 2.9%, Tajikistan to 61.4%, Timor-Leste) and 7.5% among females (range = 1.6%, Tajikistan to 29.0%, Bulgaria). In the majority of countries assessed, the proportion of current tobacco smokers who desired to quit smoking exceeded 50%. These findings could be used by country level tobacco control programs to inform strategies to prevent and reduce youth tobacco use (1,4).