UN Analysis Final.pdf - United Nations in Cambodia

FIGURE 6-5. PROPORTION OF CAMBODIAN YOUTHS WHO ARE CURRENT SMOKERS, BY AGE AND REGION
30
25
20
15-19 Years
20-24 Years
15-24 Years
15
10
5
0
Cambodia
Phnom Penh
Percent
Urban
Rural
Cambodia
Phnom Penh
Urban
Rural
Cambodia
Phnom Penh
Urban
Rural
Source: CSES 2004 datasets
Clearly, smoking increases with age. A large proportion of those aged 20-24 were smokers. Figure 6-5
shows that 12.5 per cent of 20-24 year-olds are smokers, although not shown on the graph, there is a
significant difference between the proportion of males and females smoking (24 per cent and 1.1. per cent,
respectively). By region, the largest percentage of smokers were rural males (26.7 per cent), followed by
urban males (24.5 per cent) and Phnom Penh males (4.5 per cent). Among females aged 20-24, 1.2 per cent
and 1.3 per cent of rural and urban areas smoke, respectively.
The MoEYS YRBS in 2004 revealed prevailing trends in tobacco use among youths aged 11-18. Nationwide,
about 5 per cent (9.2 per cent males and 1.3 per cent females) in this age group have tried smoking, and
more than half reported smoking on a daily basis. Out-of-school youths are more likely to smoke than
in-school youths (9.2 per cent, compared with 0.6 per cent). On average, most started smoking when
they were 15 years old.
6.2.5 ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
The 2004 YRBS also focused on youth consumption of alcohol, drinking behaviour and the home
environment. Its findings revealed that 14.2 per cent of young people (20.9 per cent males and 7.4 per cent
females) aged 11-18 reported having drunk alcohol. Among youths consuming alcohol, out-of-school youths
(15.9 per cent) were more likely to have had a drink than their in-school peers (12.1 per cent). Half of the
youths, most of whom were out-of-school, had had at least one drink in the previous 30 days. Young people
on average, started to consume alcohol when they were 12 years old.
74 Situation Analysis of Youth in Cambodia