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Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)

Barbados

Fact Sheet • • • • • • • •

The Barbados 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 some of the components Barbados could include in a comprehensive tobacco control program.

The Barbados GYTS was a school-based survey of students in Forms 3-5, conducted in 1999.

A two–stage cluster sample design was used to produce representative data for all of Barbados. 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 94.7%, the student response rate was 96.2%, and the overall response rate was 91.1%. A total of 1,647 students participated in the Barbados GYTS.


Prevalence

36.3% of students had ever smoked cigarettes (male 36.4%; female 35.8%)

17.6% currently use any tobacco product (male 17.3%; female 17.8%)

10.8% currently smoke cigarettes (male 9.6%; female 11.8%)

9.8% currently use other tobacco products (male 10.9%; female 8.8%)

17.1% of never smokers are likely to initiate smoking next year

Knowledge and Attitudes

25.6% think boys and 15.0% think girls who smoke have more friends

5.7% think boys and 3.8% think girls who smoke look more attractive

Access and Availability - Current Smokers

39.3% usually smoke at home

19.9% buy cigarettes in a store

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

Environmental Tobacco Smoke

22.9% live in homes where others smoke

51.5% are around others who smoke in places outside their home

78.5% think smoking should be banned from public places

63.8% think smoke from others is harmful to them

26.5% have one or more parents who smoke

6.8% have most or all friends who smoke

Cessation - Current Smokers

50.2% want to stop smoking

64.6% tried to stop smoking during the past year

50.1% have ever received help to stop smoking

Media and Advertising

75.7% saw anti-smoking media messages, in the past 30 days

70.0% saw pro-cigarette ads on billboards, in the past 30 days

69.6% saw pro-cigarette ads in newspapers or magazines, in the past 30 days

14.8% have an object with a cigarette brand logo

8.3% were offered free cigarettes by a tobacco company representative

School

32.3% had been taught in class during the past year about the dangers of smoking

23.4% had discussed in class during the past year reasons why people their age smoke

28.7% had been taught in class during the past year the effects of tobacco use

* sample size <35 participants

Highlights

  • 18% of students currently use any form of tobacco; 11% currently smoke cigarettes; 10% currently use some other form of tobacco.
  • ETS exposure is high - over 1 in 5 students live in homes where others smoke; over half are exposed to smoke in public places; 1 in 4 have parents who smoke.
  • 6 in 10 students think smoke from others is harmful to them.
  • Almost 8 in 10 students think smoking should be banned in public places.
  • 5 in 10 smokers want to stop.
  •   Over 7 in 10 students saw anti-smoking media messages in the past 30 days; 7 in 10 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 04/04/2008
Page last modified 04/04/2008