Linking Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) data to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC): The case for Tunisia

INTRODUCTION: The World Health Organization (WHO) had launched the Framework convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003 in order to curve the epidemic of tobacco use worldwide. Since most smokers begin to smoke before the age of 18 years, Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) has been developed in order to monitor tobacco smoking among adolescents. Our aim was to assess smoking among Tunisian youth using GYTS 2017 data. METHODS: GYTS is cross-sectional, two cluster school-based survey to produce a representative sample of students aged 13-15 years. It was conducted in 2017 in 67 secondary schools in Tunisia. The investigation tool was an anonymously answered questionnaire, which contained core questions about six majors tobacco related topics. RESULTS: Lifetime cigarettes and waterpipe prevalence were 7.8% (14.4% of boys, 1.6% of girls, p<0.001) and 7.2% (13% of boys, 2.8% of girls, p<0.001), respectively. Among cigarette smokers, 62.5% were able to buy their own cigarettes. Overall, 23.5% of cigarette smokers and 41.5% of waterpipe smokers were not able to buy their products because of their age. Sixty percent of smokers wanted to quit and 56.4% had already tried to stop. Half of the respondents were exposed to SHS in their homes and 62.1% in indoor public places. CONCLUSIONS: In Tunisia, tobacco prevalence among youth is high. Youth have free access to tobacco products and smoke-free regulations are only partially respected.