Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project

Introduction: Finding ways to discourage adolescents from taking up smoking is important because those who begin smoking at an earlier age are more likely to become addicted and have greater difficulty in quitting. This article examined whether anti smoking messages and education could help to reduc...

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Main Authors: Shukry Zawahir, Maizurah Omar, Rahmat Awang, Hua Hie Yong, Ron Borland, Buppha Sirirassamee, Geoffrey T. Fong, David Hammond
Other Authors: Universiti Sains Malaysia
Format: Article
Published: 2018
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Online Access:https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/32562
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spelling th-mahidol.325622018-10-19T12:34:02Z Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project Shukry Zawahir Maizurah Omar Rahmat Awang Hua Hie Yong Ron Borland Buppha Sirirassamee Geoffrey T. Fong David Hammond Universiti Sains Malaysia School of Pharmacy, Management and Science University (MSU) Cancer Council Victoria Mahidol University University of Waterloo Ontario Institute for Cancer Research Medicine Introduction: Finding ways to discourage adolescents from taking up smoking is important because those who begin smoking at an earlier age are more likely to become addicted and have greater difficulty in quitting. This article examined whether anti smoking messages and education could help to reduce smoking susceptibility among adolescents in two Southeast Asian countries and to explore the possible moderating effect of country and gender. Methods: Data came from Wave 1 of the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Project (ITC-SEA) survey conducted in Malaysia (n = 1,008) and Thailand (n = 1,000) where adolescents were asked about receiving antismoking advice from nurses or doctors, being taught at schools about the danger of smoking, noticing antismoking messages, knowledge of health effects of smoking, beliefs about the health risks of smoking, smoking susceptibility, and demographic information. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression models. Results: Overall, significantly more Thai adolescents reported receiving advice from their nurses or doctors about the danger of smoking (p < .001), but no country difference was observed for reported antismoking education in schools and exposure to antismoking messages. Multivariate analyses revealed that only provision of antismoking education at schools was significantly associated with reduced susceptibility to smoking among female Malaysian adolescents (OR = 0.26). Higher knowledge of smoking harm and higher perceived health risk of smoking were associated with reduced smoking susceptibility among Thai female (OR = 0.52) and Malaysian male adolescents (OR = 0.63), respectively. Conclusions: Educating adolescents about the dangers of smoking in schools appears to be the most effective means of reducing adolescents' smoking susceptibility in both countries, although different prevention strategies may be necessary to ensure effectiveness for male and female adolescents. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. 2018-10-19T05:34:02Z 2018-10-19T05:34:02Z 2013-02-01 Article Nicotine and Tobacco Research. Vol.15, No.2 (2013), 482-491 10.1093/ntr/nts161 1469994X 14622203 2-s2.0-84872844330 https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/32562 Mahidol University SCOPUS https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84872844330&origin=inward
institution Mahidol University
building Mahidol University Library
continent Asia
country Thailand
Thailand
content_provider Mahidol University Library
collection Mahidol University Institutional Repository
topic Medicine
spellingShingle Medicine
Shukry Zawahir
Maizurah Omar
Rahmat Awang
Hua Hie Yong
Ron Borland
Buppha Sirirassamee
Geoffrey T. Fong
David Hammond
Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project
description Introduction: Finding ways to discourage adolescents from taking up smoking is important because those who begin smoking at an earlier age are more likely to become addicted and have greater difficulty in quitting. This article examined whether anti smoking messages and education could help to reduce smoking susceptibility among adolescents in two Southeast Asian countries and to explore the possible moderating effect of country and gender. Methods: Data came from Wave 1 of the International Tobacco Control Southeast Asia Project (ITC-SEA) survey conducted in Malaysia (n = 1,008) and Thailand (n = 1,000) where adolescents were asked about receiving antismoking advice from nurses or doctors, being taught at schools about the danger of smoking, noticing antismoking messages, knowledge of health effects of smoking, beliefs about the health risks of smoking, smoking susceptibility, and demographic information. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests and logistic regression models. Results: Overall, significantly more Thai adolescents reported receiving advice from their nurses or doctors about the danger of smoking (p < .001), but no country difference was observed for reported antismoking education in schools and exposure to antismoking messages. Multivariate analyses revealed that only provision of antismoking education at schools was significantly associated with reduced susceptibility to smoking among female Malaysian adolescents (OR = 0.26). Higher knowledge of smoking harm and higher perceived health risk of smoking were associated with reduced smoking susceptibility among Thai female (OR = 0.52) and Malaysian male adolescents (OR = 0.63), respectively. Conclusions: Educating adolescents about the dangers of smoking in schools appears to be the most effective means of reducing adolescents' smoking susceptibility in both countries, although different prevention strategies may be necessary to ensure effectiveness for male and female adolescents. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved.
author2 Universiti Sains Malaysia
author_facet Universiti Sains Malaysia
Shukry Zawahir
Maizurah Omar
Rahmat Awang
Hua Hie Yong
Ron Borland
Buppha Sirirassamee
Geoffrey T. Fong
David Hammond
format Article
author Shukry Zawahir
Maizurah Omar
Rahmat Awang
Hua Hie Yong
Ron Borland
Buppha Sirirassamee
Geoffrey T. Fong
David Hammond
author_sort Shukry Zawahir
title Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project
title_short Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project
title_full Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project
title_fullStr Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: Findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project
title_sort effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in malaysia and thailand: findings from the international tobacco control southeast asia project
publishDate 2018
url https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/32562
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