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Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS)

U.S. Virgin Islands—Middle School

Fact Sheet • • • • • • • •

The U.S. Virgin Islands—Middle School YTS 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 the U.S. Virgin Islands could include in a comprehensive tobacco control program.

The U.S. Virgin Islands—Middle School YTS was a school–based survey of students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades conducted in 2003–2004.

  A two–stage cluster sample design was used to produce representative data for all of U.S Virgin Islands 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 94.3%, the student response rate was 89.8%, and the overall response rate was 84.6%. A total of 1,755 students participated in the U.S. Virgin Islands—Middle School YTS.

Prevalence

15.5% of students had ever smoked cigarettes (Boys = 16.2%, Girls = 14.4%)

7.0% currently use any tobacco product (Boys = 8.8%, Girls = 5.0%)

3.1% currently smoke cigarettes (Boys = 3.2%, Girls = 2.8%)

5.7% currently use other tobacco products (Boys = 7.6%, Girls = 3.4%)

3.7% currently smoke bidis (Boys = 5.2%, Girls = 2.0%)

1.5% currently smoke pipe (Boys = 2.3%, Girls = 0.5%)

24.0% of ever smokers started smoking before age 11

18.6% of never smokers are likely to initiate smoking next year
 

Knowledge and Attitudes

32.6% think young people who smoke cigarettes have more friends

13.3% think smoking cigarettes makes young people look cool or fit in
 

Access and Availability—Current Smokers

14.3% buy cigarettes in a store

60.1% who bought cigarettes in a store were NOT refused purchase because of their age
 

Environmental Tobacco Smoke

23.3% live in homes where others smoke in their presence

32.5% are around others who smoke in places outside their home

82.9% think smoke from others is harmful to them

14.8% have one or more smokers among their four closest friends

16.5% were in a car where someone was smoking
 

Cessation—Current Smokers

65.9% want to stop smoking

57.7% tried to stop smoking during the past year

20.5% have ever received help to stop smoking
 

Media and Advertising

69.7% saw antismoking media messages, in the past 30 days

32.2% saw ads for tobacco products on the internet
 

School

45.5% had been taught in class, during the past year, about the dangers of smoking

38.5% had been taught in class, during the past year, ways to say NO to tobacco use

Highlights

• 7% of students currently use any form of tobacco; 3.1% currently smoke cigarettes; 5.7% currently use some other form of tobacco.

• ETS exposure is High—over 2 in 10 students live in homes where others smoke in their presence; Over 3 in 10 are exposed to smoke in public places.

• Approximately 8 in 10 students think smoke from others is harmful to them.

• Over 6 in 10 smokers want to stop smoking.

• Almost 7 in 10 students saw antismoking media messages in the past 30 days

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

 

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Page last reviewed 02/28/2007
Page last modified 02/28/2007