Impact of nearby smoking on adolescent smoking behavior in Korea

Although youth smoking is a very significant topic, research on youth smoking is limited. More specifically, youth smoking studies are limited to certain schools and regions. In this study, we investigated the association between number of nearby smokers and adolescent smoking behavior.This study used South Korea's representative Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey from 2014 to 2016. A total 198,814 adolescents were included in the analysis. Survey logistic regression models were used to examine the association. We also analyzed subgroup models and various combinations of nearby smokers to explain adolescent smoking behavior.Adjusting for variables associated with smoking behavior, multivariate survey logistic regressions revealed that adolescents with more nearby smokers had a greater risk for smoking (1 person: odds ratio [OR], 5.090; 2 persons: OR, 8.405; 3 persons or more: OR, 12.039, all statistically significant). Combinations of nearby smokers also show that the risk of smoking increases as the number of people increases. In particular, smoking increased significantly when with friends.The study found that, as the number of surrounding cigarette smokers increases, the smoking rate in teenagers increases, and there is a tendency to vary according to social status. We recommend that educators and policy makers use a variety of approaches considering social environmental factors in smoking prevention programs and smoking cessation education for adolescents.