Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Nonsmoking Adolescents in West Africa

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

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.

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.

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.