Tobacco use among adolescents in Qatar: Findings from Global Youth Tobacco Surveys 2004–2013

Introduction TTobacco use has become a global health concern. Almost a third of the adolescents of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) have reported tobacco use and the percentage is expected to rise in the future, making tobacco consumption a main public health issue among students, 13–15 years old, in the region’s countries. We aimed to conduct an analysis of the previous Global Youth Tobacco Surveys (GYTS) in Qatar to detect any significant changes that might inform decision makers on planning policies and interventions accordingly. Methods This study presents a retrospective data analysis, based on three GYTS conducted in Qatar during 2004, 2007, and 2013. All analyses were weighted to account for the complex survey design and for differential non-response at school, class and student levels, with the exception of the analysis of sociodemographic characteristics. The differences between the proportions were tested by Pearson’s chi-squared test. Data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences), version 21.0 (Chicago, IL). A p-value