Recently, the research team of Professor Xi Bo published an original article in the journal of Lancet Global Health (JCR1 District, IF=26.763): Global trends in the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure among adolescents aged 12-16 years from 1999 to 2018: an analysis of repeated cross-sectional surveys. The first author is Ph.D. Candidate Ma Chuanwei and the corresponding author is Professor Xi Bo, both of whom are from the School of Public Health, Shandong University.

Secondhand smoke exposure can cause morbidity and premature mortality. According to WHO reports, exposure to secondhand smoke causes about 1.2 million deaths every year, and 65 000 children die from illnesses related to secondhand smoke exposure every year. Children and adolescents are in a critical period of growth and development when various organs and tissues are more sensitive to toxic and harmful substances. Serious attention is being given to tobacco control among children and adolescents by the WHO, governments, and education departments. However, the global prevalence of, and trends in, secondhand smoke exposure among adolescents are poorly documented.

Based on the most recent Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) done in 142 countries, the latest map of the spatial distribution of secondhand smoke exposure among adolescents in 142 countries around the world was drawn for the first time by Professor Xi Bo’s team. Meanwhile, based on data from at least 2 surveys conducted from 1999 to 2018, the team assessed the trend in the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure among adolescents. The results suggest that although the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure at home decreased in 86 (65.6%) countries, the prevalence in public places did not change in 46 (35.1%) countries and increased in 40 (30.5%) countries. Previous studies reported that the definition of secondhand smoke exposure is "at least one day of exposure to secondhand smoke during the past 7 days", which cannot fully reflect the severity of secondhand smoke exposure among adolescents. For the first time, this study evaluates the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure according to different frequencies (at least 1 day, 3 days, 5 days, and daily exposure during the past 7 days). The results suggest that the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure among adolescents is still at a high level worldwide (any place: at least 1 day: 62.9%; at least 3 days: 51.0%; at least 5 days: 40.1%; and daily exposure: 32.5%).These findings emphasize the need to strengthen smoke-free policies, especially in public places.

The study was conducted in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (IF = 11.288) in April 2021, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33545071/), which is a sister article recently published about global youth tobacco use. The main international partners of this study include Professor Liang Yajun (Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institute), and Professor Emerald G Heiland (Department of Physical Activity and Health, The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences). This study was supported by the Youth Team of Humanistic and Social Science of Shandong University.

Original link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214109X2100365X