article · Discover Public Health
An investigation in the Upper East Region of Ghana examined susceptibility to tobacco use among 1,015 junior high school students who had never consumed tobacco. Overall, 17.5 percent of these adolescents demonstrated susceptibility to future tobacco use. Susceptibility rates were particularly elevated among first-year junior high school students at 21.1 percent and among those of Bulsa ethnicity at 20.4 percent. The analysis identified several individual, environmental, and social correlates. Adolescents who reported having no religion were twice as likely to be susceptible compared to Christian peers. In addition, environmental exposure through working on tobacco farms more than doubled the odds of susceptibility. Social influences also played a notable role, as adolescents who had been asked to light a cigarette faced twice the odds of susceptibility compared to those without such exposure.
Adolescent tobacco use presents a major public health challenge across the world. Identifying early susceptibility before young people start smoking helps pinpoint the exact individual, social, and environmental circumstances that encourage initiation. Understanding these specific risk factors allows public health planners and educators to design targeted school and community programmes that protect vulnerable young people from picking up the habit.
The abstract does not indicate an immediate commercial application pathway, as it provides early-stage epidemiological baseline data. However, the findings could directly inform public health bodies, school administrators, and non-profit organisations developing targeted adolescent substance abuse prevention programmes and behavioural intervention tools. These applications remain at an early, planning-oriented stage, focusing on policy guidance and prevention design rather than marketable products or commercial technologies.
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Abstract Background The rising use of tobacco among adolescents is a significant public health challenge. Understanding susceptibility to tobacco use is crucial for effective prevention. This study determined the prevalence and correlates of tobacco use susceptibility among junior high school adolescents in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using baseline data from a school-based tobacco prevention program in Ghana ( N = 1015 adolescents who never tried tobacco) in 2022. A multistage cluster sampling approach facilitated data collection using self-administered questionnaires, which captured individual, social, and environmental factors related to tobacco susceptibility. Tobacco susceptibility was assessed using a 5-item Likert-type scale, dichotomized for analysis. We computed unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals using multivariable binary logistic regression to identify factors associated with tobacco susceptibility. Results Overall, 17.5% of adolescents showed susceptibility to tobacco use, with a higher prevalence observed in lower grades (21.1% in Grade 1) and among the Bulsa ethnicity (20.4%). Individual characteristics, such as no religion, significantly increased the odds of high susceptibility (AOR = 2.0, 95%CI = 1.3-3.0) compared to Christians. Environmental factors, specifically working on tobacco farms, also increased the odds of susceptibility (AOR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.3–3.5). Social influences, such as being asked to light a cigarette (AOR = 2.0, 95%CI = 1.2–3.2), were associated with increased odds of tobacco use susceptibility. Conclusion Nearly one in five adolescents in the Upper East region of Ghana showed susceptibility to future tobacco use. Having no religion, working in tobacco farms, and being exposed to tobacco-related errands were associated with higher susceptibility. These findings can inform focused interventions to prevent tobacco use initiation among adolescent in region.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12982-026-02871-5
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