MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · May 2006
Tobacco use among students aged 13-15 years--Kurdistan Region, Iraq, 2005.
Tobacco use is one of the major preventable causes of premature death and disease in the world. The Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), part of the Global Tobacco Surveillance System initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO), CDC, and the Canadian Public Health Association, was developed to monitor tobacco use, attitudes about tobacco, and exposure to secondhand smoke among youths and has been conducted in 140 countries. ⋯ Boys (21%) were statistically significantly more likely than girls (2.1%) to smoke cigarettes, but no significant difference was observed between boys and girls in their use of other tobacco products. Public health authorities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq can use the baseline information from the GYTS to design and implement tobacco-control programs to reduce youth smoking.
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MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. · May 2006
Physical dating violence among high school students--United States, 2003.
Dating violence is defined as physical, sexual, or psychological violence within a dating relationship. In a study of dating violence victimization among students in grades 7-12 during 1994-1995, the 18-month prevalence of victimization from physical and psychological dating violence was estimated at 12% and 20%, respectively. In addition to the risk for injury and death, victims of dating violence are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, unhealthy dieting behaviors, substance use, and suicidal ideation/attempts. ⋯ By using data from the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), CDC analyzed the prevalence of physical dating violence (PDV) victimization among high school students and its association with five risk behaviors. The results indicated that 8.9% of students (8.9% of males and 8.8% of females) reported PDV victimization during the 12 months preceding the survey and that students reporting PDV victimization were more likely to engage in four of the five risk behaviors (i.e., sexual intercourse, attempted suicide, episodic heavy drinking, and physical fighting). Primary prevention programs are needed to educate high school students about healthy dating relationship behaviors, and secondary prevention programs should address risk behaviors associated with dating violence victimization.