The Effects of Cigarette Advertisement and Peer Influence on Adolescent’s Smoking Intention in Indonesia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of smoking among adolescents keeps increasing. Based on data from the Regional Health Research 2013, the prevalence of child smokers aged 10–18 years old was 7.2–9.1% in 2018. In fact, it exceeds the government’s target to reduce the number of child smokers in 2019 to 5.4%. Cigarette advertising is one of the reasons children are attracted to smoking, and Indonesia ranks first in ASEAN for youth exposure to tobacco advertisement and promotion. AIM: The aim of the study is to determine the factors that affect the urge to smoke in adolescents, specifically the influence of friends who smoke and exposure to cigarette advertisements in Sleman, Indonesia. METHODOLOGY: A non-experimental study with a correlation study and a cross-sectional approach. The sample was 318 respondents with a total sampling technique on first-grade junior high school students from three schools. The research instruments used were a questionnaire on exposure to cigarette advertisements, smoker friends, and the intention to smoke. The bivariate analysis used was the chi-square correlation test. RESULTS: Most of the respondents were exposed to cigarette advertisements in the medium category (56.6%), most of the respondents had smoking friends (57.2%), 11% of respondents had the desire to smoke shortly, and 15.1% of respondents had a desire to smoke for an extended period. The correlation test results between exposure to cigarette advertisements and smoking friends and the desire to smoke in the near and long term showed a p-value of <0.001. CONCLUSION: There was a significant relationship between exposure to cigarette advertisements and friends who smoke and the intention to smoke in the near and long term among adolescents in Sleman Regency, Indonesia. Edited by: Sasho Stoleski Citation: Sutrisno R, Melinda F. The Effects of Cigarette Advertisement and Peer Influence on Adolescent’s Smoking Intention in Indonesia. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2021 Jun 26; 9(T4):291-295. https://doi.org/10.3889/ oamjms.2021.5809