BACKGROUND: Tobacco use among adolescents is a major public health problem. Preventive policies and interventions should target non-users of tobacco that are susceptible to using tobacco. A study was carried out to descript the pattern of susceptibility to tobacco use in Zambia
METHODS: This was a stratified (Lusaka, Tobacco growing and Rest of country) cross-sectional school based survey. With the help of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, sample sizes of 25 schools and 1,875 students for each region was determined. Overall, the sample sizes were 81 schools and 8336 students. Students were sampled using a two-stage cluster sampling technique. Applying weighted analysis, correlates were identified using adjusted odds ratios and their 95% Confidence intervals.
RESULTS: Overall, 34.1% (34.9% of male and 33.1% of female) students were susceptible to using tobacco in future. Main findings included: students aged < 12 years were 51% (AOR=1.51, 95% CI: 1.44, 1.59) more likely to be susceptible to tobacco use compared with students aged 17 years or older, offered a free tobacco product from a tobacco company (AOR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.77, 1.83), students who had no closest friend who smoked cigarettes were 15% (AOR=0.49, 95% CI: 0.48, 0.50), current use of electronic cigarette (AOR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.39, 1.44), and ever smoked shisha (AOR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.44, 1.49).
CONCLUSIONS: A high proportion of adolescents was susceptible to tobacco use. There is need to counteract tobacco industry advertisement, curb electronic cigarettes and shisha smoking in order to reduce the level of susceptibility by adolescents to tobacco smoking