title: Smoking beliefs and behavior among youth in South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Beliefs about smoking are important predictors of smoking behavior among adolescents, and adolescents who hold positive beliefs about the benefits of smoking are at an increased risk of smoking initiation. An alarming fact is the rising smoking prevalence in Asian countries, particularly the increasing trend in smoking during adolescence.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This cross-sectional study examined smoking beliefs and behavior among a nationally representative sample of youth in South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive statistics, linear regression, and logistic regression methods were used to analyze data from 13-15-year-old adolescents who participated in the 2005 Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) in South Korea (N = 4,765) and Thailand (N = 15,420) and the 2007 GYTS in Taiwan (N = 3,955).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate of ever smoking among youth was similar in all three countries and ranged from 26.7 to 28.0 %. The prevalence of current smoking among youth in Thailand (11.4 %) was nearly double the prevalence in South Korea (6.6 %) and Taiwan (6.5 %). Pro-tobacco advertising exposure, as well as older ages, was a positive and significant predictor of positive beliefs about smoking among youth in all three countries. Additionally, youth who reported increased positive smoking-related beliefs, greater pro-tobacco advertising exposure, and were male were more likely to be current smokers in all three countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that greater attention be directed to understanding beliefs and attitudes about smoking among youth. Exploring the relationship between these factors and smoking behavior can provide a strong starting point in the development of effective smoking prevention interventions and tobacco control policies in this region.
authors.affiliation: Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco, 530 Parnassus Avenue, Suite 366, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Joann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: C Wick
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000329:Advertising; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012044:Regression Analysis; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control