Smoking temptation and susceptibility among non-smokers adolescents in Chisinau, Moldova

Abstract

Background. Susceptibility to smoking, defined as a lack of a firm commitment not to smoke, is therefore useful in estimating which young people can become smokers and under whose influence the status of susceptibility can change. Aims. This study aims to assess the association between the susceptibility of tobacco use among non-smoking students and psychosocial and sociodemographic factors. Methods. The current study is a repeated cross-sectional secondary analysis of data collected using a questionnaire administered in 2015 and 2018 among ninth-grade students in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. Out of 368 students in 2015 and 819 students in 2018 included in the study as eligible students, 329 students (89.4%) in 2015 and 698 students (85.2%) in 2018 declared themselves as non-smokers. Results. The prevalence of susceptibility to cigarette smoking among the study participants was 38.6% in 2015 and 50.2% in 2018 (p<0,001). Our result indicates that smoking friends represent a strong predictor of high smoking susceptibility among those who have never smoked. In 2015 the share of susceptible students who had smoking friends was 23.4%, and in 2018 the share reached 31.5% (p = 0.007). Parents’ smoking or non-smoking status was also an important predictor of smoking susceptibility. Thus, we found that students with non-smoking mothers are less susceptible (2015 - 59.9%; 2018 -47.1%, p = 0.025). The temptation to smoke increased significantly during the period covered by the study from 1.32 (0.67) to 1.48 (0.66) (p < 0.001). Conclusions. The connection between socio-demographic factors (smoking parents or friends) and psycho-emotional factors (the temptation to smoke) will increase the likelihood of smoking among adolescents.