Introduction: Secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) exposure causes diseases and death in adults and children. Evidence indicates that most SHS exposures occur at home and in the workplace. Therefore, home is a major place where adults and children can be effectively protected from SHS. This study examined the magnitude of SHS exposure at home and associated factors in eight sub-Saharan African countries.
Aims and methods: We analyzed 2012-2018 Global Adult Tobacco Survey data for Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda. We computed prevalence estimates of self-reported monthly SHS exposure at home reported as anyone smoking inside their home daily, weekly, or monthly. We calculated SHS exposure at home prevalence and applied multivariable logistic regression models to identify related factors.
Results: Overall median prevalence of SHS exposure at home was 13.8% in the eight countries; ranging from 6.6% (95% CI: 5.7%, 7.6%) in Nigeria to 21.6% (95% CI: 19.4%, 24.0%) in Senegal. In multivariable analysis across the countries, SHS exposure at home was associated with living with a smoker, ranging from an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of 4.6 (95% CI: 3.6, 5.8) in Botswana to 27.6 (95% CI: 20.1, 37.8) in Nigeria. SHS exposure at home was significantly associated with lower education attainment (Kenya and Ethiopia), and lower wealth index (Uganda, Senegal, and Botswana).
Conclusions: SHS exposure in homes was associated with the presence of a smoker in the home and lower socioeconomic status.
Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 2022.