Current Use of Other Tobacco Products in Six Countries in the South-East Asia Region: Findings from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey
Tobacco is one of four major risk factors for non-communicable diseases and kills nearly 6 million people annually. Tobacco use is a growing problem among youth, who are increasingly using tobacco products other than cigarettes. Particularly in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), this paper examines the levels and trends in tobacco use other than cigarettes using data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted from 2006 to 2013 in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
METHODS:
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 prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals.
RESULTS:
All six countries increased in overall prevalence of other tobacco products (OTP) use for the two most recent survey rounds. The overall prevalence more than doubled in Bhutan from 12.0% (9.3-15.4) in 2009 to 26.9% (23.4-30.8) in 2013 and in Nepal from 8.0% (6.2-10.2) in 2007 to 19.1% (15.7-23.0) in 2011. In both countries, the prevalence of OTP use among girls more than tripled. Boys had a significantly higher prevalence of OTP use than girls in one or both survey rounds in five countries. In Myanmar 2011, the prevalence for boys was 27.8% (21.9-34.5), and for girls it was 6.7% (4.7-9.5). In all countries, the prevalence of OTP use was higher than that of cigarette smoking.
CONCLUSIONS:
In the South-East Asia Region (SEAR), most countries increased in prevalence of current use of other tobacco products, and boys had a higher prevalence of OTP use than girls. Anti-smoking messages and tobacco prevention efforts should be targeted toward other tobacco products in this region, especially for smokeless tobacco.