Patterns of smoking among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Survey

• Main Authors: David Hammond, Foong Kin, Aree Prohmmo, Nipapun Kungskulniti, Tan Y. Lian, Sharad K. Sharma, Buppha Sirirassamee, Ron Borland, Geoffrey T. Fong
• Other Authors: University of Waterloo
• Format: Article
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: Medicine
• Online Access: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/19616
• Institution: Mahidol University

At present, 70% of the world's 1.1 billion smokers are in developing countries, with over 50% in Asia alone. The current study examined patterns of youth smoking in Thailand and Malaysia. Respondents were 2002 youths between the ages of 13 and 17 from Thailand (n = 1000) and Malaysia (n = 1002). Respondents were selected using a multistage cluster sampling design and surveyed between January 2005 and March 2005. Approximately 3% of youth between the ages of 13 and 17 were current smokers, with an additional 10% to 12% reporting experimental smoking. Males were between 7 and 15 times more likely to report smoking behavior than females. Less than 1% of females respondents in either country met the criteria for current smoking, and less than 5% met the criteria for experimental smoking. In contrast, more than 50% Thai males and approximately one-third of Malaysian males aged 17 met the criteria for either experimental or current smoking. © 2008 APJPH.