Support of smoking restriction in public areas among adolescents in Malaysia-The findings from Tobacco and E-Cigarette Survey among adolescents in Malaysia (TECMA)

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescents are the future generation, and their support for smoke-free policies might create momentum for future stringent smoke-free initiatives. This study aimed to determine the levels and factors associated with support for smoking in public areas among Malaysian school-going adolescents aged 10-19 years. Methods: The data were derived from the Tobacco and E-cigarettes among adolescents in Malaysia (TECMA), which employed the cross-sectional study design and multistage sampling to select the representative samples of school-going adolescents. Data was obtained through self-administered of pre-validated questionnaire. Descriptive study, cross-tabulation and multivariable analysis were used for analysis Result: Majority of respondents supported smoking restriction in public areas (86.3%, 95 CI 85.4-87.1). The proportion and likelihood of support of smoke-free initiative were higher among respondents with better knowledge of the harmful effects of second-hand smoke (SHS), been taught in school about the health effects of smoking, older age group (16-19 years), female, those students schooling in urban areas, Malay and other Bumiputras from Sabah and Sarawak. However, current smokers and ECV users were less likely to support smoke-free initiatives in public areas. Conclusion: The level of support for smoke-free initiative in public areas was high among youths in Malaysia, and this might offer promising prospects to expand the non-smoking areas to more public areas in the future. . Keywords: smoke-free public area, level of support, school-going adolescent,smoking status, TECMA

Social Support Among Older Persons and Its Association With Smoking and Associated Factors: Findings From the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2018

“…The reasons for this are probably due to an increase in diseases in older respondents hence they quit smoking and the rigorous quit smoking campaigns conducted by the government. In addition, the prevalence of current smoker in our paper was lower than smokers in the middle and older ages in South Korea which was 17.4% (23). This discrepancy was due to their operational definition which had included both middle and older age group in the South Korean study.…”