Association of tobacco control policies with cigarette smoking among school youth aged 13–15 years in the Philippines, 2000–2015

INTRODUCTION: In 2003, the Philippines implemented legislation that prohibited the sale of tobacco products to youth, placed text warning labels on tobacco products, and prohibited tobacco smoking in public places. This study assessed if this legislation was associated with reduced cigarette smoking among youth. METHODS: Data came from the 2000–2015 Philippines Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of students aged 13–15 years. GYTS data were used to determine associations between tobacco control legislation and current, past 30-day, current cigarette smoking (CCS). Logistic regression models were adjusted for age, sex, current other tobacco product use (COTPU), and price per cigarette stick (PPCS). RESULTS: In the unadjusted model, the 2003 legislation was not associated with CCS (OR=0.77; 95% CI: 0.54–1.10). After adjusting for covariates, it was negatively associated (AOR=0.65; 95% CI: 0.53–0.80). Being 15 years old (OR=1.31; 95% CI: 1.08–1.58), male (OR=2.54; 95% CI: 2.17–2.98), and COTPU (OR=4.12; 95% CI: 3.47–4.91) were positively associated with CCS in unadjusted models. In adjusted models, being 14 years old (AOR=1.29; 95% CI: 1.08–1.53), 15 years old (AOR=1.55; 95% CI: 1.31–1.84), male (AOR=2.49; 95% CI: 2.13–2.91), and COTPU (AOR=3.96; 95% CI: 3.32–4.73), were associated with CCS. PPCS was not associated with CCS in either the unadjusted (OR=1.32; 95% CI: 0.82–2.11) or adjusted (AOR=1.32; 95% CI: 0.79–2.18) models. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for covariates, the 2003 tobacco control legislation was associated with lower current cigarette smoking, but price per cigarette stick was not.