Prevalence of hookah smoking and associated factors among male high school students in Iraq

Public awareness, prevalence, and regulations for the sale of electronic cigarettes in Arab countries: A narrative review

The majority of the Arab countries have high records of daily tobacco smoking. Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use has exponentially increased in the past decade in Arab countries. Consumers' willingness to quit smoking traditional cigarettes and their perception of e-cigarettes as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes have increased the demand for these devices. This narrative review aimed to gather and discuss the available literature on the awareness, prevalence, and sales regulations of e-cigarettes in Arab countries. A search was conducted on electronic databases such as PubMed, Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar with no time limits until the end of 2021. Some of the recent studies (2019-2021) considered in this review have reported that more than 25% of participants were e-cigarettes users. The prevalence of e-cigarettes has increased drastically with raised awareness of e-cigarettes among the population in these Arab countries. Most of the users of e-cigarettes are young males. In addition, an increase in e-cigarettes use has been reported in females. The policies which regulate trade and sale of e-cigarettes and related products were issued in only three Arab countries. In contrast, regulations for the trade and sale of traditional cigarette products are also applied in some countries to e-cigarette products, banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors and/or amend smoke-free laws to restrict public use of e-cigarettes. There is a need for a concerted effort to assess the prevalence and significant rise of e-cigarettes consumption in Arab societies to help implement and improve harm reduction policies.

Prevalence, knowledge and factors associated with shisha smoking among university students in Cameroon

BACKGROUND: Young adults consider shisha (water-pipe) less harmful than other smoking methods, but it has been reported to expose its users to excess levels of tobacco. This study sought to determine the prevalence, knowledge and factors associated with shisha use among university students in Buea, Cameroon.METHODS: Consenting participants were included in a cross-sectional study. Knowledge was assessed using a knowledge summary score and logistic regression used to identify factors associated with shisha smoking. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.RESULTS: There were 1,008 student participants; 509 (50.9%) were female. The mean age was 22.9 ± 3.1 years. The prevalence of shisha smoking was 26% (95% CI 23.3-28.8). Most respondents had good knowledge about shisha (59.2%). Poor knowledge about shisha (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.37, 95% CI 1.57-3.59)], living in a hostel (aOR 2.00, 95% CI 1.29-3.11), friends' use of shisha (aOR 5.41, 95% CI 3.03-10.43) and alcohol consumption (aOR 1.91, 95% CI 1.24-2.94) were associated with shisha smoking.CONCLUSION: The prevalence of shisha smoking among university students in Buea is high; about one-quarter of the students have poor knowledge about its harmful health effects. There is an increasing need for sensitisation of these young adults to the harmful effects of tobacco smoking.

Prevalence of waterpipe smoking and its associated factors among adolescents aged 12-16 years in 73 countries/territories

Introduction

To describe the recent prevalence of, and trends in, waterpipe smoking and to examine its associated factors among adolescents aged 12-16 years in 73 countries/territories (hereafter "countries").

Methods

Data from 72 countries that had conducted a Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) in 2010-2019 and from the National Youth Tobacco Survey in the United States in 2019 were used to assess the recent prevalence of waterpipe smoking and to examine its associated factors among adolescents aged 12-16 years. Data from 38 countries that had carried out at least 2 surveys from 2000 to 2019 were used to determine trends in the prevalence of waterpipe smoking among adolescents.

Results

The recent prevalence of current waterpipe smoking (on 1 day during the past 30 days) among adolescents was 6.9% (95%CI 6.4-7.5). The prevalence was highest in the European region (10.9%, 9.9-11.8) and Eastern Mediterranean region (10.7%, 9.5-11.9), but lowest in the Western Pacific region (1.9%, 1.4-2.4). The prevalence of current waterpipe smoking increased or remained unchanged in 19 (50%) of 38 countries, but decreased in the remaining 19 countries (50%). Parental smoking, closest friends' smoking, secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco advertisement exposure, not being taught the dangers of smoking, particularly cigarette smoking, were positively associated with adolescent waterpipe smoking.

Discussion

Waterpipe smoking among adolescents remains a major public health issue worldwide, especially in the regions of Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. Effective prevention and control strategies and measures are needed to curb the epidemic of adolescent waterpipe smoking.

Biomonitoring of BTEX in primary school children exposed to hookah smoke

Hookah smoking is one of the major indoor sources of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). This study aimed to investigate the potential exposure to BTEX among primary school children, particularly those exposed to hookah smoke. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Khesht, one of the southwestern cities in Iran, in mid-June 2020. Totally, 50 primary school children exposed to hookah smoke were chosen as the case group and 50 primary school children were selected as the control group. Urinary un-metabolized BTEX was measured by a headspace gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Additionally, a detailed questionnaire was used to gather data and information from the students' parents. The mean levels of urinary benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, and o-xylene were 1.44, 5.87, 2.49, 6.93, and 7.17 μg/L, respectively in the exposed children. Urinary BTEX was 3.93-folds higher in the case group than in the controls (p<0.05). Household cleaning products, the floor on which the house was located, children's sleeping place, and playing outdoors were found to be important factors in predicting urinary BTEX levels. Overall, it was found necessary to avoid indoor smoking to prevent the emission of BTEX compounds via exhaled mainstream smoke and to protect vulnerable non-smokers, especially children, from exposure to second-hand and third-hand smoke.