Tobacco use among georgian schoolchildren; pilot study following criteria of European school project on alcohol and other drug

Abstract

The main purpose of the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) is to collect comparable data on substance use among 15-16 year-old European students in order to monitor trends within as well as between countries. This summary presents key results from the Tobacco Use in Georgian Students, pilot study rigorously following Criteria of European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drug (ESPAD). The survey was conducted according to a standardized methodology and with a standardized questionnaire. Data were collected during February 2009 and the target population was Tbilisi students in the 10-th grade (93% born in 1992), with a mean age of 16.1 years at the time of data collection. Data were collected by group-administered questionnaires. The students answered the questionnaires anonymously in the classroom with researchers. On average, in our survey, about half of the surveyed students reported having tried smoking cigarettes at least once and 16% had used cigarettes during the past 30 days. 1.1% of all students had smoked at least a packet of cigarettes per day during the last 30 days. On average 60% of surveyed students replied that they find it fairly or very easy to get cigarettes if they want to. On average, 30% (10% - 9 years old or less) of the students said that they had been smoking cigarettes on a daily basis at the age of 13 or younger. The proportion of students who smoked on a daily basis at the age of 13 or younger is 4.3%. Adolescent's tobacco use is a great public health concern in Georgia. Smoking is quite prevalent among Georgian adult population which on one hand reflects their children's habits and on the other hand reflects not only their, but their families and broader community's health. The consumption level among adults and their attitudes towards the substance in question can be one factor that affects use among teenagers. So may the magnitude of information and preventive efforts. Availability, not only in physical terms but also in financial terms, is another factor. Other, less substance-related, factors include the general level of health awareness in a population and the social and economic structures and conditions of individual communities. The study results show the importance of knowledge on these issues and therefore including the healthy lifestyle subject in school curricula.