Prevalence of tobacco use among adults in Egypt, 2009

Abstract

Introduction: We assessed the differences in overall use of tobacco and in the use of various tobacco products, by sex and by frequency of use across various demographic groups.

Methods: We used data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), conducted in 2009 in Egypt. The data consist of answers to GATS by 20,924 respondents from a nationally representative, multistage probability sample of adults aged 15 years or older from all regions of Egypt. Current tobacco use was defined as current smoking or use of smokeless tobacco products, either daily or occasionally. We analyzed the differences in current cigarette, shisha, and smokeless tobacco use by sex and frequency of use (daily or occasional); and by demographic characteristics that included age, region, education level and employment status.

Results: Overall, 19.7% of the Egyptian population currently use some form of tobacco. Men (38.1% [95% confidence interval (CI) 36.8-39.4]) are much more likely than women (0.6% [95% CI 0.4-0.9]) to use tobacco. Almost 96% of men who use tobacco, do so daily. Men are more likely to use manufactured cigarettes (31.8% [95% CI 30.6-33.1]) than shisha (6.2% [95% CI 5.6-6.9]) or smokeless tobacco (4.1% [95% CI 3.4-4.8]). Few women use tobacco (cigarettes (0.2%), shisha (0.3%) and smokeless tobacco (0.3%)); however, all women who currently smoke shisha, do so daily. Lower educational status, being between ages 25-64 and being employed predicted a higher use of tobacco.

Conclusion: 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.

Keywords: Egypt; Global Adult Tobacco Survey; World Health Organization; epidemiology; gender differences; shisha; smoking; tobacco; tobacco addiction; tobacco reduction plan.