Cigarette smoking prevalence among school-going adolescents in two African capital cities: Kampala Uganda and Lilongwe Malawi.

BACKGROUND Non communicable diseases are a growing public health concern. Globally tobacco-related deaths surpass malaria deaths and yet developing countries' data are lacking. OBJECTIVES To compare prevalence of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco and tobacco-related issues among adolescents in Kampala, Uganda and Lilongwe, Malawi. METHODS Cross sectional data from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) w used. Data were collected in 2001 in Lilongwe and in 2002 in Uganda using a standardized questionnaire tool. The study was aimed to enrolled schoolchildren aged 13-17 years. RESULTS The prevalence of tobacco smoking in Kampala and Lilongwe among adolescents was 5.6% and 6.2% (p >0.05) respectively. However, adolescents in Lilongwe were statistically significantly more likely to have ever smoked, use other tobacco products and perceived themselves as likely to initiate smoking in the coming year. Exposure to tobacco-related advertisements through billboards, newspapers and magazines was high in both settings. CONCLUSIONS Adolescents are increasingly being exposed to tobacco and tobacco-related advertisements in Lilongwe, Malawi and Kampala, Uganda. There is need to enhance tobacco prevention efforts in developing nations.