Prevalence and factors associated with tobacco use among adults attending selected healthcare facilities in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

Aim: Tobacco use increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, premature death and certain cancers. This study investigated the prevalence and determinants of tobacco use among adults in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), South Africa. Methods: This study forms part of the cardio-metabolic risk survey carried out at the three largest outpatient clinics in BCMM. This multi-centre cross-sectional survey utilised the relevant items of the WHO STEPwise questionnaire to obtain information on demographic and behavioural characteristics of 1 107 participants. A total of 109 participants were excluded as a result of incomplete data. Thus, 998 participants (male = 327; female = 671) were included in the analysis. Self-reported, current use of any tobacco product was defined as tobacco use while secondary smoking was defined as exposure of non-smokers to environmental tobacco smoke, either at home or in the workplace. Results: Of all the study participants, 150 (15%) were current tobacco users and 335 (39.5%) of the non-smoking participants were exposed to secondary smoking. The majority of the tobacco users were males (70.7%) compared with females (29.3%). The commonest form of tobacco use was the manufactured cigarette. The mean age at initiation of smoking was 18.3 ± 5.1 and 22.6 ± 8.0 years for men and women, respectively. Only male sex (p = 0.000), single status (p = 0.003), no formal education (p = 0.007) and self-employment (p = 0.043) were significantly associated with tobacco use. Conclusion: High prevalence of tobacco use, especially cigarette smoking, in BCMM is worrisome given its strong association with cardiovascular events and cancers. The district health authorities should prioritise smoking cessation measures at the primary health care level.

Challenges to Quit Smoking among Smokers in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia

“…However, it is inconsistent with our finding and a study done in Sweden, which the prevalence of smoking among divorced man (49.3%) is higher compared to unmarried man (47.2%) and married man (38.4%) [25]. Marriage often comes with responsibilities and married participants are more likely to be restricted in their ability to purchase cigarettes [7]. Positive influence of social support sustained on cessation of smoking and living under a partial or total home smoking ban are positively associated with successful cessation [26], [27].…”

“…However, the prevalence of smoking among male was 37.9%, consistent with the National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2015 that shows 38.8% of smokers are men [2]. Smoking is considered to be socially acceptable among men compared with women in the majority of South African communities [7] and gender was significantly associated with smoking in our study, thus accounting for the higher prevalence of smoking recorded among men. In addition, smoking makes young people look more mature, makes young men look more attractive and helps to control body weight [8].…”

“…The administrative staff and researchers reported a higher significant number of subjects who smoke in their areas of work and this might be the privacy that the administrators and researchers have to smoke in their offices [31]. Thus, higher prevalence of smoking among the private workers in our study might be due to the operation in a private work environment, which makes it less difficult to enforce anti-smoking regulations [7].…”

Health-Promoting Lifestyle Behaviours Among Primary Healthcare Professional Nurses in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…Of the 203 nurses involved in this study, only eight percent had ever smoked or used any tobacco product and only three percent of the nurses currently smoke. This proportion of nurses who had ever smoked and are current smokers is quite lower than the reported rate among nurses in Turkey (40%) (Adamek et al, 2012) and 45% (Sezer, Guler, & Sezer, 2007), Japan (18.6%) (Ohida, Osaki, Kobayashi, Sekiyama, & Minowa, 1999) and the United States (8%) (Sarna, Bialous, Sinha, Yang, & Wewers, 2010) When compared to the general population, the prevalence reported in this study is lower than the 15% reported among adults in the same setting (Owolabi et al, 2017c). This is commendable as this shows that the nurses in this setting detest smoking and this might have influence on the health education they offer to patients concerning smoking.…”

Prevalence and risk factors associated with tobacco smoking among adults in India: a nationally representative household survey

“…The problem of tobacco use is significantly concomitant with a high mortality problem. The number of tobacco users is increasing all over the world, and the global prevalence of tobacco smoking among adults is 22% [9]. Tobacco smoking is one of the leading causes of various preventable diseases and premature deaths.…”