Determinants of Preventing Tobacco Use Intention Among Adolescents

Background - Tobacco use has been proven to be harmful to our health. However, Malaysian adolescents have shown an increased interest in using tobacco. Besides, most adult smokers have claimed to have their tobacco journey initiated during adolescents. The addictive characteristic of tobacco has resulted in long haul dependence on tobacco and hence physical and emotional health problems in their older age. Previous studies in Malaysia primarily focused on risk factors in smoking cessation on traditional cigarettes. Purpose - Therefore, in this study, factors of smoking intention are examined among young adolescents based on Problem Behaviour theory. Knowledge (Personality); Parental supervision, peer influence, social media exposure and exposure to smoking prevention messages (Perceived environment); Academic performance and electronic cigarette use (Behaviour) are being observed. Design/methodology/approach - The positivism approach is applied in this study with a quantitative approach. Pilot testing of a sample of 20 students has validated the survey questions. Subsequently, 323 responses were collected from an online survey questionnaire which was distributed to Malaysian adolescents aged 13 to 18 years old. For data analysis, a two-stage analysis of the reflective measurement model is carried out by utilising the SmartPLS application. Findings/Expected Contributions - All of the seven tested independent variables show the reliable index in Outer loadings, Composite reliability, convergent validity (Average Variance Extracted) and Discriminant Validity (Cross Loading & HTMT). For the structural model assessment, the results show that peer influence, perceived knowledge and electronic cigarette use show a significant p-value toward the smoking intention. Research limitations - Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the process of data collection from young adolescents is prolonged. Hence, the online survey was used by using the purposive sampling method. Originality/value - As most papers focus on factors that affect smoking behaviour and smoking cessation, this paper would give an insight into protective factors in adolescents' smoking intention. The findings of this study wish to help schools and government agencies increase awareness of smoking prevention especially involving the use of electronic cigarettes