Prevalence and determinants of tobacco use among school going adolescents in Cambodia and Vietnam: a cross-sectional study

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and correlates of tobacco use among school-going adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study consisted of a secondary analysis of existing cross-sectional survey data from the Global School-based Health Survey from Cambodia and Vietnam in 2013, and comprised schoolchildren. Data was analysed using Stata 13. Results: The study comprised 7,137 schoolchildren. The overall mean age was 15.5+/-1.4 years. Besides, 3,806(53.33%) were from Cambodia and 3,331(46.67%) from Vietnam. Overall, 279(5.1%) students reported currently using tobacco (smoking and/or smokeless), including 214(6.2%) boys and 65(1.6%) girls, and 127(3.6%) in Cambodia and 152(5.2%) in Vietnam. Current cigarette smoking was 239(4.5%) and smokeless tobacco use was 143(2.4%). Conclusion: Tobacco use was found to be significantly high among schoolchildren in Cambodia and Vietnam.