Sociodemographic predictors for smoking persistence among young males in Indonesia

Abstract

The prevalence and burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Indonesia are increasing. One major risk factor for NCDs is smoking. Thus, this study assessed sociodemographic predictors of smoking persistence among young males in Indonesia, who are at high risk for smoking and NCDs. We analysed the Indonesian Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) conducted in 2017, a nationally representative survey in 34 provinces of Indonesia. We included data from 9957 young males aged 15-24 who had tried smoking and were interviewed by the IDHS enumerators for their smoking patterns and sociodemographic characteristics. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the predictors of smoking persistency. Our analyses uncovered that those who started smoking at high-school age, lived in rural areas, had an occupation, and had lower education levels, had higher odds of smoking persistence than other young males. The use of internet, also increased the odds of smoking persistence, while those reading newspapers had lower odds of smoking persistence. Regarding household characteristics, young males who came from poor households, whose household heads were smokers or not married, also had higher odds of smoking. In conclusion, this study also showed the significance of several individual variables and household sociodemographic factors related to smoking persistence. Based on our findings, we recommend the need for intervention that aims not only at large-scale policy to ban smoking and educational campaigns through the internet but also specific educational intervention targeting families, particularly poor families with active smokers. The educational campaign is also needed to target the younger population, who are at higher risk for smoking persistence if they start smoking earlier.