Tobacco use by teens common worldwide: survey

NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters) Nearly one in five 13- to 15-year-old students worldwide use tobacco products, according to findings of a new survey.

The new findings released yesterday come in anticipation of the World Health Organization's World No Tobacco Day, which is held every year on May 31. The theme for this year is ''Tobacco: Deadly in Any Form or Disguise,'' emphasizing that it's not just cigarette smoking that is harmful.

The Global Youth Tobacco Survey was begun in 1999 as joint effort by the WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Canadian Public Health Association. The CDC report included data obtained up to 2005.

Students from more than 130 countries responded to questions about tobacco, including personal use, secondhand exposure and advertising. The countries were divided into six geographic regions: Africa, Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific.

The report indicates that 17.3 per cent of all respondents reported that they currently used some type of tobacco product. The overall rates of cigarette smoking and other tobacco use were 8.9 per cent and 11.2 per cent, respectively.

Europe and the Americas had the highest rates of cigarette smoking at approximately 17.7 percent, while South-East Asia had the lowest rate at 4.3 per cent. However, South-East Asia had the highest rate of other tobacco use at 13.3 per cent, while the Western Pacific had the lowest at 6.4 per cent.

In all regions, the use of other tobacco products was generally more common among boys than among girls. However, the prevalence of all tobacco use between the sexes was similar, which the researchers say is a cause for concern, and suggest that ''effective tobacco-control programs must be developed and implemented with special focus on girls.'' These programs should include evidence-based interventions for adolescents to decrease the burden of tobacco-related disease,'' the researchers conclude.

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