ABSTRACT
Introduction: This study assessed rural–urban disparities in awareness of secondhand smoke (SHS) harms and exposure to anti-smoking media messages among adolescents in Nigeria using nationally representative data.
Methods: A secondary analysis of the 2008 Nigeria Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), a nationally representative school-based survey of students aged 13–15 years, was performed. Data were extracted for SHS harm awareness (CR42), anti-smoking media exposure (CR48–CR50), and covariates (sex, age, rural residence, parental smoking, and school type). Analyses were performed using weighted descriptive statistics and survey-adjusted logistic regression, with results presented as proportions and adjusted odds ratios
(aORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Associations between media exposure and SHS awareness and between rural residence and both outcomes were assessed.
Results: Of all 2,379 adolescents in the GTYS, 33.5% were aware of SHS harms and 36.8% recalled exposure to anti-smoking media messages. Rural adolescents significantly reported less awareness (29.8%) and media exposure (21.4%) compared with their urban counterparts (36.9% and 40.2%, respectively). In multivariable analyses, exposure to anti-smoking media was positively associated with SHS awareness (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]=1.65; 95% CI: 1.59–1.71; p<0.001), whereas rural residence was inversely associated with both outcomes (aOR=0.85; 95% CI: 0.82–0.89; p<0.001). Parental smoking was negatively associated with awareness (aOR=0.98; 95%CI: 0.93–1.04; p=0.49).
Conclusion: Awareness of the harms of secondhand smoke and exposure to anti-smoking media remain low among Nigerian adolescents, with clear rural–urban inequities. Rural residence was consistently associated with reduced awareness and message reach, whereas media exposure significantly increased the likelihood of SHS harm recognition.
Keywords:Adolescents, Secondhand smoke, Media exposure, Rural–urban disparities, Nigeria.