Tobacco use in South Africans during 1998: The first demographic and health survey

Objective \ud \ud To determine smoking patterns in South Africa,\ud and to identify groups requiring culturally appropriate smoking\ud cessation programmes.\ud \ud Methods \ud \ud A random sample of 13 826 people (415 years),\ud was interviewed to identify tobacco use patterns and\ud respiratory symptoms. Peak expiratory flow rates were\ud measured. Multinomial regression analyses identified sociodemographic\ud factors related to tobacco use, and the latter’s\ud association with respiratory conditions.\ud \ud Results \ud \ud In 1998, 24.6% adults (44.2% of males and 11.0%\ud of females) smoked regularly. Coloured women had a higher\ud rate (39%) than African women (5.4%). About 24% of the\ud regular smokers had attempted to quit, with only 9.9%\ud succeeding. African women (13.2%) used smokeless tobacco\ud more frequently than others. Of the nonsmokers 28%\ud and 19% were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke in\ud their homes and workplaces, respectively. The regression\ud analysis showed that the demographic characteristics of light\ud smokers (1–14 tobacco equivalents per day) and heavy\ud smokers (>=15 tobacco equivalents per day) differed. Light\ud smoking occurred significantly more frequently in the\ud poorest, least educated and urban people. The relative risk\ud for light smoking was 18 in Coloured women compared with\ud African women. Heavy smoking occurred most frequently in\ud the highest educated group. A dose–response was observed\ud between the amount smoked and the presence of respiratory\ud diseases.\ud \ud Conclusions \ud \ud Smoking in South Africa is decreasing and\ud should continue with the recently passed tobacco control\ud legislation. Culturally appropriate tobacco cessation programmes\ud for the identified target groups need to be\ud developed