Access to health information on alcohol and tobacco among adolescents in Tanzania

Basic health information on alcohol and tobacco is usually available to adolescents in industrialized countries, but this is not always the case in developing countries. Alcohol and tobacco consumption are common in Tanzania, hence preventive strategies, including information dissemination, especially to adolescents, are essential. This study examines the access to information on alcohol and tobacco among adolescents in Tanzania. A random sample of 2869 pupils aged 10–18 years from fourth to seventh grades at 18 primary schools located in three regions were studied. These pupils completed a questionnaire. Their responses indicated limited access to information on alcohol and tobacco, in particular among the girls and the younger pupils. For those who had received such information, their main sources were parents, health workers, religious leaders, schoolteachers and the media. These sources differed by age, gender, religion and residential area of the adolescents. The messages usually obtained were on health and social problems of drinking and smoking. However, a few adolescents especially in the rural areas had information on economic, medicinal and recreational benefits of alcohol or tobacco, or on how to produce these substances. These findings indicate a need for a national strategy for provision of proper and equitable health information for preventing drinking and smoking behaviours among adolescents in Tanzania.

Developing country · Economic growth · Environmental health · Political science · Population · Recreation · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Tanzania · Tobacco use · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Health Literacy and Information Accessibility · Medicine · School Health and Nursing Education