Tobacco Product Users Among School-Going Adolescents in Malaysia: Prevalence and Associated Factors

Tobacco use, usually initiated during adolescence, represents a significant public health problem worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of current users and ever users of tobacco products among adolescents and their associated factors.

This was a cross-sectional study which was conducted among Form 1, Form 2 and Form 4 students in six secondary schools in the Selangor state of Malaysia. A pre-tested and validated self-administered questionnaire was used.

A total of 386 adolescents agreed to participate and fulfilled the inclusion criteria, giving a response rate of 89.4%. The prevalence of current users and ever users of all tobacco products was 9.8% and 26.2%, respectively. Vape or e-cigarettes recorded the highest prevalence of current users (8.0%) and ever users (17.4%), followed by cigarette smoking (current users: 3.1%; ever users: 14.0%) and snuff (current users: 2.1%; ever users: 9.6%). Tobacco products that recorded a lower prevalence of current and ever users included cigars, chewing tobacco, and pipe smoking (0.3% to 0.8%). The significant factors for current and ever users of tobacco products usage were Malay ethnicity, males, fathers smoking, peers who smoke, and interaction between gender and ethnicity.

In conclusion, about 1 in 10 adolescents were current smokers, and 1 in 4 were ever-smokers. The most popular method of tobacco consumption (current and ever usage) was vaping. Personal, parental, and peer influences were key predictors of smoking, highlighting the need to address them in anti-smoking programmes.