Concurrent alcohol and tobacco use among school-going adolescents in Namibia: prevalence and risk factors

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors for concurrent alcohol and tobacco use among school-going adolescents in Namibia . Data were from a sample of 4 531 Namibian middle school children (females = 53 .1%; mean age = 15 .8 years, SD = 1 .8 years) . They completed the Namibia Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) in 2013 . Overall, 74 .4% of alcohol users in the past month were frequent tobacco users; whereas 40 .5% of tobacco users in the past month were frequent alcohol users . Compared to students who were neither alcohol nor tobacco users (63 .1%), concurrent alcohol and tobacco users were more likely to self-report with a lack of parent support, to have used illicit drugs, to have engaged in school truancy, to be sedentary in behaviour, to have engaged in a physical fight, and to have had two or more sexual partners . Substance use prevention and treatment programmes with adolescents should routinely address their risk for comorbid tobacco and alcohol use .