Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Nonsmoking Adolescents in West Africa.

Objectives: We estimated the prevalence and determinants of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure among nonsmoking adolescents in 9 West African countries.

Methods: We conducted a pooled analysis with nationally representative 2006 to 2009 Global Youth Tobacco Survey data. We used descriptive statistics to determine the prevalence of SHS exposure and inferential statistics using a multivariable logistic regression model to determine factors associated with SHS exposure. We investigated average marginal effect results that show the probability of SHS exposure, adjusting for all other attributes.

Results: SHS exposure inside the home ranged from 13.0% to 45.0%; SHS exposure outside the home ranged from 24.7% to 80.1%. Parental or peer smoking behaviors were significantly associated with higher probability of SHS exposure in all 9 countries. Knowledge of smoking harm, support for smoking bans, exposure to antismoking media messages, and receptivity of school tobacco education were significantly associated with higher SHS exposure in most countries.

Conclusions: West African policymakers should adopt policies consistent with Article 8 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and its guidelines and public health education to promote smoke-free households.