ObjectiveEvidence shows that smoking tobacco using a waterpipe is significantly associated with diseases. Despite this, waterpipe use seems to be increasing worldwide, though nationally representative data are not widely available. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) provides an opportunity to measure various indicators of waterpipe use from nationally representative surveys.MethodsData were obtained for adults 15 years of age or older from 13 countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay and Vietnam) who completed GATS from 2008–2010. The GATS questionnaire collected data on current waterpipe use, including daily/less than daily prevalence and number of sessions per day/week. An optional waterpipe module measured former use, age of initiation, and level of consumption during a session.ResultsGATS was successful in producing nationally representative data on waterpipe use from 13 countries, many of which for the first time. The prevalence of waterpipe use among men was highest in Vietnam (13.0%) and Egypt (6.2%); among women, waterpipe use was highest in Russia (3.2%) and Ukraine (1.1%). While over 90% of adults in Ukraine thought smoking tobacco causes serious illness, only 31.4% thought smoking tobacco using a waterpipe causes serious illness.ConclusionsGATS data provide the ability to analyse waterpipe use within a country and across countries. Monitoring of waterpipe use at a national level will better enable countries to target tobacco control interventions such as education campaigns about the negative health effects of waterpipe use.

Egypt assessed tobacco use among young people and adults through implementation in 2009 of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) among school students aged 13-15 years and the nationally representative Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) among adults aged 15+ years. Both surveys employed cluster sampling to produce nationally representative samples and used standard core questionnaires with optional, country-specific questions. The results indicated that a higher percentage of adolescent girls in Egypt used tobacco than did adult females. Overall, 3.8% of girls aged 13-15 years used some form of tobacco compared with 0.6% of women aged 15+ years. Adolescents were over 14 times more likely than adult women to currently smoke cigarettes and 11 times more likely to smoke waterpipes. Moreover, the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adolescent girls had increased from 1.4% in the 2005 GYTS to 2.8% in 2009, indicating that social and cultural norms may be changing. Prévalence de la consommation de tabac chez les femmes adultes et les adolescentes en ÉgypteRÉSUMÉ L'Égypte a évalué la consommation de tabac chez les jeunes et les adultes au moyen de la mise en oeuvre en 2009 de l'Enquête mondiale sur le tabagisme chez les jeunes auprès des élèves âgés de 13 à 15 ans et de l'Enquête mondiale sur le tabagisme chez les adultes, représentative au niveau national, auprès d'adultes de plus de 15 ans. Les deux enquêtes ont eu recours à des échantillonnages en grappes afin de générer des échantillons représentatifs au niveau national et ont administré des questionnaires de base normalisés complétés par des questions optionnelles spécifiques aux pays. Les résultats ont indiqué qu'en Égypte, le pourcentage de consommatrices de tabac était plus élevé chez les adolescentes que chez les femmes adultes. Globalement, 3,8 % des adolescentes âgées de 13 à 15 ans consommaient du tabac contre 0,6 % des femmes de plus de 15 ans. Les adolescentes étaient 14 fois plus susceptibles de fumer des cigarettes et 11 fois plus susceptibles de fumer la pipe à eau que les femmes adultes. En outre, la prévalence de la consommation de cigarettes chez les adolescentes a augmenté, passant de 1,4 % selon les résultats de l'enquête mondiale sur le tabagisme chez les jeunes de 2005 à 2,8 % en 2009, ce qui indique que les normes sociales et culturelles pourraient être en train de changer.

Egypt has implemented several initiatives to reduce tobacco use. The World Health Organization (WHO) MPOWER technical package, which aims to reverse the tobacco epidemic, is implemented at various levels throughout the country. Our findings show that there is significant variation in the prevalence of tobacco use and types of tobacco used by adult men and women in Egypt. GATS data can be used to better understand comparative patterns of tobacco use by adults, which in turn can be used to develop interventions.