Tobacco Consumption Patterns among Iranian Adults: a National and Sub-national Update from the STEPS Survey 2021

Abstract

Background and objective Smoking is recognised as a critical public health priority due to its enormous health and economic consequences. Constant monitoring of the effectiveness of tobacco control programs calls for timely population-based data. This study reports the national and sub-national patterns in tobacco consumption among Iranian adults based on the results from the STEPwise approach to chronic disease risk factor surveillance (STEPS) survey 2021. Methods This study was performed through an analysis of the results of the STEPS survey 2021 which had been conducted as a nationally representative cross-sectional study. Participants included Iranian adults aged ≥ 18 years in all provinces of Iran, who were selected via multistage cluster sampling method. Data were analyzed via survey analysis while considering population weights. Results The total number of participants was 27874, including 15395 (55.23%) women and 12479 (44.77%) men. The all-ages prevalence (95% CI) of current tobacco smoking was 14.01% (13.56–14.48): 4.44% (4.09–4.82) among women and 25.88% (25.03–26.75) among men. The all-ages prevalence of current cigarette smoking was 9.33% (8.95–9.72): 0.77% (0.62–0.95) among women and 19.95% (19.17–20.75) among men. The all-ages prevalence of current hookah smoking was 4.5% (4.23–4.78): 3.64% (3.33, 3.98) among women and 5.56% (5.12–6.03) among men. The mean (SD) number of cigarettes smoked per day among current cigarettes smokers was 11.4 (9.82): 5.9 (6.76) among women and 11.65 (9.87) among men. The mean (SD) monthly times of hookah use was 23.87 (44.95): 29.93 (48.26) among women and 19.02 (41.52) among men. The national all-ages prevalence of second-hand smoking at home was 24.65 (24.06–25.25): 27.39 (26.6-28.19) among women and 20.28 (19.4-21.18) among men. The national all-ages prevalence of second-hand smoking at work was 20.73% (20.11–21.36): 17.96% (17.21–18.73) among women and 25.15% (24.07–26.26) among men. Conclusion The tobacco consumption in Iran remains alarmingly high, indicating the current tobacco control policy implementation level is ineffective and insufficient. This calls for adopting, implementing, and enforcing comprehensive packages of evidence-based tobacco control policies.

Association Between Physical Activity and Risk of Depression

“…epression is the leading cause of mental healthrelated disease burden and a major cause of disability worldwide, affecting approximately 280 million people and accounting for more than 47 million disability-adjusted lifeyears in 2019. 1 Depression is also associated with premature mortality from other illnesses 2 and suicide. 3 Prevention of depression requires effective interventions, including modification of established risk factors.…”

The burden of neck pain among adults aged 70 years and older in Iran, 1990–2019

“…25 Furthermore, the average number of cigarettes smoked each day in Iran has grown from 10.4 in 2016 to 12.4 in 2021. 26 This finding may also be a factor in the higher prevalence and burden of neck pain in Iran over the 1990-2019 period, as well as into the future. There are a number of additional risk factors for neck pain that should be examined in future observational studies and meta-analyses, including low sociooccupational level, high job demands, and having a history of underlying diseases.…”

“…The age‐standardized point prevalence of smoking in Iran increased in both males (2.3%) and females (8.3%) between 1990 and 2019, whereas globally smoking decreased over the last three decades in both females (−37.7%) and males (−27.5%) 25 . Furthermore, the average number of cigarettes smoked each day in Iran has grown from 10.4 in 2016 to 12.4 in 2021 26 . This finding may also be a factor in the higher prevalence and burden of neck pain in Iran over the 1990–2019 period, as well as into the future.…”

Assessing the risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in relation to Hookah smoking: Evidence from a cohort study in Southern Iran

“…2 Hookah use has been raised as an important problem in Arabian countries, Turkey and Iran. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] According to a review study in 2022, the prevalence of hookah consumption in the world was 9.6%, with the Eastern Mediterranean region (10.7%) having the highest prevalence after Europe (10.9%). 10 The prevalence of hookah smoking has increased significantly in Iran: form 0.2% in 2016 to 4.5% in 2021.…”

“…10 The prevalence of hookah smoking has increased significantly in Iran: form 0.2% in 2016 to 4.5% in 2021. 5,11 Also, Hormozgan province with a prevalence of 30.6% has the fourth rank of hookah smoking in Iran. 12 The hookah smoking leads to a high volume of smoke that contains 80 times more toxic chemicals than cigarette smoke.…”