The prevalence and determinants of tobacco use among adolescents in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Adolescent tobacco use has been a serious public health issue, resulting in longer duration of tobacco use and higher nicotine dependence in adulthood. This study identified the current status of tobacco use among middle schools students in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and the factors leading to tobacco use, to provide information on how to effectively prevent tobacco use among adolescents.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to measure the prevalence of tobacco use and profile tobacco users. School selection was stratified by region, gender, and type (public or private). Altogether, 1186 seventh- to ninth-grade students were selected. Of those, 1019 questionnaires were used for analysis.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 14.3 years (SD = 1.2) and boys comprised 54% of the sample. The prevalence of tobacco use among students was 9.72% with a significant difference between sexes (12.43% for boys and 6.65% for girls). Bivariate and multivariate analyses results showed that students whose families had higher income, had larger daily allowances, spent less time studying, skipped class more frequently, were less religious, spent more time out of home, drank more Coca-Cola, intended to use tobacco in the next year, and were males who were more likely to use tobacco.

Conclusion: Prevention programs designed to reduce adolescent tobacco use need to consider these sociodemographic characteristics. Understanding the characteristics of adolescent tobacco users and the associated sociocultural context is critical for developing effective tobacco prevention programs targeted at adolescents.