Prevalence of Smoking among Men in Ethiopia and Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

While tobacco use remains the largest single cause of premature death in the industrialized countries, low-and-middle income countries are also experiencing a rising burden of the tobacco epidemic and are making various programmatic efforts to tackle the issue. Evidence-based policy making is critical to the long-term success of tobacco intervention programs and is reliant on regular monitoring of the trends and prevalence rates of tobacco use though population-based surveys, which are sparse for countries in eastern Africa. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to (1) estimate the trends in the prevalence of self-reported smoking status; and (2) explore the sociodemographic factors associated with smoking among adult men in Ethiopia and Kenya. Methods: Subjects were 26,919 adult men aged between 15 and 59 years from Ethiopia and Kenya. Nationally representative cross-sectional data on self-reported smoking and relevant sociodemographic indicators were collected from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in these two countries. Data analysis was performed by descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable methods. Results: In Ethiopia, the prevalence rate of smoking increased from 8.5% in 2005 to 11.7% in 2011. While in Kenya, the rate declined albeit slowly from 22.9% in 2003 to 18.8% in 2008–2009 and 17% in 2014. The prevalence was significantly different in urban and rural areas. In majority of the surveys, prevalence of smoking was highest in the age group of 25–34 years. The prevalence of smoking varied widely across several socioeconomic characteristics. Conclusions: The findings indicate a high rate of smoking among men especially in urban areas, and call for policy actions to address the socioeconomic factors as a part of the policy to strengthen tobacco-control efforts.

Smoking Intensity and Associated Factors among Male Smokers in Ethiopia: Further Analysis of 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey

“…In our study, older daily smokers have a higher likelihood to smoke cigarettes intensively, with the older group (45-59 years) smoking 1.8 times more cigarettes than the younger counterparts (15-29 years). This study finding is similar with a study done in Ghana and Ethiopia [6], Harari [8], Ethiopia and Kenya [11], and Nepal [19], where younger men have a lower likelihood to smoke greater quantities of cigarettes. This may be due to the fact that older people had extended tobacco use and experience which increased the smoking intensity [4,8].…”

“…Since a significant number of the daily smokers used manufactured cigarettes, this study adopted the number of manufactured cigarettes the participants used per day as an outcome variable to assess the smoking intensity among male smokers in Ethiopia. Based on the literature [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11], age, marital status, residence, educational level, religion, occupational status, administrative region, wealth index, frequency of media use, current khat chewing behavior, and alcohol use were the selected independent variables.…”

“…Some studies utilized the EDHS data to determine factors associated with smoking. Two studies were done based on the 2011 EDHS data and focused on the prevalence and determinants of tobacco use and the effects of geographic variations [4,11]. The other was based on the 2011 and 2016 EDHS data and assessed the geographic variations, the impact of khat (Catha edulis) chewing and other individual, and the household-and community-level determinants of smoking in Ethiopia [6].…”

Prevalence and factors associated with tobacco use among men in India: findings from a nationally representative data

“…The magnitude of alcohol consumption was stronger for smoking than smokeless tobacco use. Tang et al [23] also showed a similar finding in Ethiopia. People who consume alcohol more tend to smoke more [15].…”

Effect of antenatal depression on adverse birth outcomes in Gondar town, Ethiopia: A community-based cohort study

“…Potential mechanisms underlying this association include an increased concentration of cotinine and nicotine in the amniotic fluid of the newborn leading to nicotine-induced placental vasoconstriction, a reduced blood oxygen uptake, increases in carboxyhemoglobin, or an increased occurrence of placental vascular disease, all of which affect fetal growth [91]. According to the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS, 2016), the prevalence of smoking in women was 1% [92], but the prevalence in school-based studies is much higher and the risk of second-hand smoking at home was reported to be 62.5% [93,94]. Similarly, in the current study, 10.7% of pregnant women had tobacco exposure, suggesting that tobacco is becoming a major public health trait in Ethiopia.…”