Factors related to smoking and consumption of alcohol and kava in children attending the upper grades of primary schools in Vanuatu

Objectives To identify factors related to smoking and consumption of alcohol and kava in children attending the upper grades of primary schools in Vanuatu. Methods We conducted a self-administered survey of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students attending primary schools in both urban and rural areas of Vanuatu. The main survey items included questions on the personal attribute (sex, age, grade); experience of smoking and consumption of alcohol and kava; food consumption (local food/store-bought food); perceptions of local foods and store-bought foods; attitudes toward smoking and consumption of alcohol and kava; knowledge related to non-communicable diseases; attitudes toward health practices; guardians’ health-related parenting attitudes; and family members’ use of tobacco, alcohol, and kava. The responses for the main outcome variables (smoking and consumption of alcohol and kava) were dichotomized as ‘ever’ versus ‘never’. Factors related to smoking and consumption of alcohol and kava were examined using logistic regression analysis. The significance level was set at P