Waterpipe Tobacco Smoking among Arab Youth; a Cross-Country Study

Abstract

<p><strong>Objective:</strong> Waterpipe tobacco smoking (WTS) is considered a global epidemic that is spreading among youth. Our analysis was<br />conducted to compare the national baseline prevalence rate estimates of WTS among Arab boys and girls.</p><p><strong>Design, Setting and Participants:</strong> The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) is a school-based survey using standardized self-administered questionnaires; it employs a two-stage cluster sampling technique to obtain a representative sample of youth (13-15 years of age). We conducted a secondary data analysis of nationally representative GYTSs available from 16 Arab countries.</p><p><strong>Main Measures:</strong> Youth who self-reported smoking waterpipe at least once in the past 30 days were considered to be current<br />waterpipe tobacco smokers. National weighted WTS prevalence rate estimates along with respective 95% confidence intervals were reported for boys and girls.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Pooled GYTS data from 16 Arab countries yielded a total of 31,359 youth. Overall, 10.6% of the respondents were current waterpipe tobacco smokers, with boys (13.7%) having significantly higher estimates than girls (7.2%). Overall, current WTS prevalence rate estimates ranged from .9% in Oman to 34.2%, in Lebanon. The WTS epidemic was more predominant among boys and girls, respectively, in the West Bank (42.8% and 24.2%),  Lebanon (38.6% and 30.5%) and Jordan (25.7% and 14.5%).<br /><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Among Arab boys and girls, WTS represents a growing strain of the tobacco epidemic that requires immediate attention. <em>Ethn Dis</em>. 2016;26(1):107-112; doi:10.18865/ed.26.1.107</p>