More Fijian men smoked a cigarette and drank alcohol before the age of 15 when compared with women, data in the Fiji Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2021 reveals.
The survey was designed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and collected data on a wide range of indicators for monitoring the situation of women and children in Fiji.
The survey found 9.5 per cent men smoked a whole cigarette before reaching 15 years and 6.7 per cent men had started drinking before 15 years.
And it found 2 per cent women had smoked before 15 years and 1.8 per cent had consumed alcohol before the age of 15.
The report said more women in Fiji stayed away from smoking a tobacco product when compared with men.
It said 87.6 per cent of women between the age of 15-49 years did not smoke cigarettes or any other tobacco product in the last month of when the survey was conducted in March-April this year.
It also found that 59.7 percent men did not smoke.
A total of 6000 households in Fiji were surveyed in March and April by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics.
