Prevalence and predictors of environmental tobacco smoke exposure among adolescents in cambodia

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and predictors of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure among nonsmoking adolescents in Cambodia. Materials and Methods: Analysis of data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted in 2003 in Cambodia. Data were analysed to obtain the prevalence of ETS exposure at home and elsewhere by age and gender. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between ETS and gender, age, smoking status of parents and friends. Results: 67.1% (64.0, 70.0) males and 67.4% (64.2, 70.5) females reported being exposed to ETS either at home or elsewhere. Adolescents who had one or both smoking parents had a more than three times the odds of ETS exposure at home (OR = 3.71; 95% CI (3.02, 4.57)). Those who had smoking friends were more likely to be exposed to ETS both at home and outside home (OR = 1.74; 95% CI (1.36, 2.24)). The overall proportion of adolescents exposed to ETS outside home was higher than those exposed at home ( P < 0.001), suggesting that exposure in public areas was the main form of ETS among adolescents in Cambodia. Conclusions: Exposure to ETS is high among adolescent in Cambodia, which indicates an urgent need for specific measures, policies and regulations to protect nonsmoker Cambodian adolescents both within and outside home.