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1 "Chandrashekhar T. Sreeramareddy"
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Original Article
Smokeless tobacco consumption and its association with tobacco control factors in the Western Pacific Region: results from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey 2015-2019
Chandrashekhar T. Sreeramareddy, Anusha Manoharan
Epidemiol Health. 2022;44:e2022103.   Published online November 8, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2022103
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES
We estimated the prevalence of smokeless tobacco (ST) consumption and its associations with tobacco control factors among school-going youth in 18 Western Pacific Region (WPR) countries.
METHODS
We analyzed school-based Global Youth Tobacco Survey (2014-2019) microdata from 18 WPR countries and estimated weighted prevalence rates of ST consumption, cigarette smoking, and dual use. We used multilevel binary logistic regression to examine the associations of ST consumption and dual use with demographic variables, exposure to pro-tobacco and anti-tobacco factors, national income, and MPOWER indicators.
RESULTS
Data from 58,263 school-going youth were analyzed. The prevalence of past 30-day ST consumption was highest in Kiribati (42.1%), the Marshall Islands (26.1%), Micronesia (21.3%), Palau (16.0%), and Papua New Guinea (15.2%). In adjusted multilevel models, ST consumption and dual use were significantly associated with sex, age, parental smoking, pro-tobacco factors, national income, and MPOWER score. For each unit increase in score for cessation programs, we observed approximately 1.4-fold increases in the odds of youth ST consumption (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15 to 1.66) and dual use (aOR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.86). Similarly, for each unit increase in score for health-related warnings, the odds of both ST consumption (aOR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.53) and dual use (aOR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.42) decreased by approximately 60%.
CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of youth ST consumption was substantial in the Pacific Islands, exceeding that of cigarette smoking in some countries. Implementing MPOWER measures for ST products could help reduce ST consumption.
Summary
Key Message
The prevalence of smokeless tobacco consumption, and cigarette smoking is considerably high among the school going youth in five pacific island nations of Western Pacific Region. Exposure to pro-tobacco factors and parental smoking were positively associated with youth smokeless tobacco consumption as well as dual use (both smokeless tobacco and cigarettes smoking) Closer monitoring and strict tobacco control policies are needed to prevent further escalation of smokeless tobacco consumption.

Epidemiol Health : Epidemiology and Health