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Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)

Iraq—Kurdistan

Fact Sheet • • • • • • • •

The Iraq–Kurdistan GYTS includes data on prevalence of cigarette and other tobacco use as well as information on five determinants of tobacco use: access/availability and price, environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ETS), cessation, media and advertising, and school curriculum. These determinants are components Iraq could include in a comprehensive tobacco control program.

The Iraq—Kurdistan GYTS was a school-based survey of students in Preparatory Grades 1-4 conducted in 2006.

A two-stage cluster sample design was used to produce representative data for three regions in Kurdistan—Erbil, El-Solimaniah, and Dahouk. 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 95.6%, and the overall response rate was 95.6%. A total of 1,989 students participated in the Iraq—Kurdistan GYTS.

Prevalence

31.6% of students had ever smoked cigarettes (Male = 45.1%, Female = 13.1%)

23.8% currently use any tobacco product (Male = 33.2%, Female = 10.9%)

15.3% currently smoke cigarettes (Male = 25.1%, Female = 2.7%)

12.7% currently use other tobacco products (Male = 15.6%, Female = 8.7%)

15.6% of never smokers are likely to initiate smoking next year

Knowledge and Attitude

33.4% think boys and 19.4% think girls who smoke have more friends

30.1% think boys and 21.5% think girls who smoke look more attractive

Access and Availability—Current Smokers

17.5% usually smoke at home

Environmental Tobacco Smoke

50.2% live in homes where others smoke in their presence

35.3% are around others who smoke in places outside their home

80.1% think smoking should be banned from public places

70.1% think smoke from others is harmful to them

39.0% have one or more parents who smoke

13.5% have most or all friends who smoke

Cessation—Current Smokers

73.6% want to stop smoking

64.4% tried to stop smoking during the past year

89.6% have ever received help to stop smoking

Media and Advertising

66.4% saw anti-smoking media messages, in the past 30 days

45.4% saw pro-cigarette ads on billboards, in the past 30 days

43.6% saw pro-cigarette ads in newspapers or magazines, in the past 30 days

20.8% have an object with a cigarette brand logo

9.9% were offered free cigarettes by a tobacco company representative

School

46.9% had been taught in class, during the past year, about the dangers of smoking

41.8% had discussed in class, during the past year, reasons why people their age smoke

49.8% had been taught in class, during the past year, the effects of tobacco use

Highlights

  • Approximately one-quarter of students currently use any form of tobacco; 15.3% of the students currently smoke cigarettes; 12.7% currently use some other form of tobacco.
  • ETS exposure is high—one half of the students live in homes where others smoke and over one third of the students are exposed to smoke around others outside of the home; nearly one in four of the students have a parent who smokes and 13.5% of the students have friends who smoke.
  • Seven in 10 students think smoke from others is harmful to them.
  • Nearly three-quarters of the current smokers want to stop smoking.
  • 1 in 10 students was offered a free cigarette by a tobacco company representative.
  • Two-thirds of students saw anti-smoking media messages in the past 30 days; Over 45% of students saw pro-cigarette ads in the past 30 days.

 

For additional information, please E-mail:
tobaccoinfo@cdc.gov

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Page last reviewed 06/27/2007
Page last modified 06/27/2007