Tunisia

Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)

FACT SHEET • • • • • • • • 

The Tunisia GYTS was a school-based survey of students in 7th and 8th grade elementary and 9th grade basic, conducted in 2001.

A two-stage cluster sample design was used to produce representative data for all of Tunisia. At the first stage, schools were selected with probability proportional to enrollment size. At the second stage, classes were randomly selected and all students in selected classes were eligible to participate. The school response rate was 100%, the student response rate was 94.1%, and the overall response rate was 94.1%. A total of 4282 students participated in the Tunisia GYTS.

Prevalence

25.3% of students had ever smoked cigarettes (Male = 39.0%, Female = 11.8%)

18.0% currently use any tobacco product (Male = 28.7%, Female = 7.2%)

13.7% currently smoke cigarettes (Male = 23.1%, Female = 4.2%)

8.6% currently use other tobacco products (Male = 13.4%, Female = 3.8%)

20.6% of never smokers are likely to initiate smoking next year

Knowledge and Attitudes

27.9% think boys and 19.4% think girls who smoke have more friends

19.1% think boys and 15.6% think girls who smoke look more attractive

12.5% usually smoke at home

53.1% buy cigarettes in a store

91.0% who bought cigarettes in a store were NOT refused purchase because of their age

Environmental Tobacco Smoke

62.8% live in homes where others smoke in their presence

66.0% are around others who smoke in places outside their home

86.2% think smoking should be banned from public places

76.2% think smoke from others is harmful to them

51.9% have one or more parents who smoke

11.7% have most or all friends who smoke

Cessation - Current Smokers

80.6% want to stop smoking

69.7% tried to stop smoking during the past year

95.2% have ever received help to stop smoking

Media and Advertising

68.8% saw anti-smoking media messages, in the past 30 days

62.3% saw pro-cigarette ads on billboards, in the past 30 days

56.2% saw pro-cigarette ads in newspapers or magazines, in the past 30 days

10.7% have an object with a cigarette brand logo

6.6% were offered free cigarettes by a tobacco company representative

School

30.5% had been taught in class, during the past year, about the dangers of smoking

25.8% had discussed in class, during the past year, reasons why people their age smoke

24.6% had been taught in class, during the past year, the effects of tobacco use

Highlights

• 18% of students currently use any form of tobacco; 14% currently smoke cigarettes; 9% currently use some other form of tobacco.

• ETS exposure is high - 6 in 10 students live in homes where others smoke in their presence; two thirds are exposed to smoke in public places; over half have parents who smoke.

• Three-fourths of students think smoke from others is harmful to them.

• Over 8 in 10 students think smoking in public places should be banned.

• 8 in 10 smokers want to quit.

•  Almost 7 in 10 students saw anti-smoking media messages in the past 30 days; over 6 in 10 students saw pro-cigarette ads in the past 30 days.