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Background: Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of death and disability in both developed and developing countries and is expected to remain so in 2020. Our research team has collected and analyzed survey based data on smoking habits from several countries around the world including China, India, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan. Our objectives here are to identify correlates of cigarette smoking that are common across these countries. Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted among 3,658 participants from a convenience sample of adults from each country collected between 2008-2011. The survey included questions on socio-demographic characteristics, current and history of cigarette smoking, family and peer smoking, and perceived harm. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictors of cigarette smoking in the past 24 hours as well as in the past month. Results: Approximately 40% of the sample had smoked a cigarette in the past day and 44% in the past month. Significant predictors included male gender, aged 25 years or more, lower education level and school performance, medical profession, dyspepsia, feeling lonely and bothered by events, using other tobacco products, alcohol use and family and friend smoking. Those who received anti-smoking messages from teachers in schools were less likely to be smokers. Conclusions: Results underscore the importance of teachers and school based anti-smoking programs in smoking prevention across cultures and highlights the prominence of social peer pressure and smoking family members as major predictors of smoking that must be incorporated in any tobacco prevention or cessation program.

This study focuses on determining the predictors of cigarette smoking in a cohort of adults in urban cities of India.

Background: Cigarette smoking is the highest ranked preventable cause of morbidity and mortality with a significant economic burden in China. The objectives of this study were to examine predictors of intention to quit smoking as well as predictors of previous attempts to quit smoking among a sample of Chinese adult smokers (n=351). Methods: A survey-based study was conducted by using a convenience sample of adults aged 18 years or older in China. Individuals who smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days were defined as smokers and considered as the study cohort. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to determine predictors of intention to quit smoking and previous attempts to quit smoking for three outcomes: intend to quit smoking in the next year vs. not, intend to quit smoking in the next 30 days vs. not, and previous attempts to quit smoking vs. not. All statistical analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.2 statistical package. Results: Majority of smokers reported attempts to quit smoking at least once in the past (60.4%). Nearly half of the smokers indicated an intention to quit smoking in the next year (46.4%), and 31.3% in the next 30 days. Significant predictors of intention to quit cigarette smoking included age, gender, peer pressure, duration of past attempt, sibling’s and close friend’s tobacco use, inhalation when smoking, and addictive level. Predictors of previous attempts to quit smoking included duration of past attempt. Conclusions: Findings suggest a high level of a previous quit attempt among smokers and somewhat high rate of intention to quit smoking in the future, underscoring the urgent need to develop effective interventions. Predictors associated with intention to quit smoking and previous attempts to quit smoking among Chinese adult smokers found in this study should be considered when designing interventions.

Background: Tobacco use remains the largest preventable cause of mortality and morbidity with a significant economic burden in China. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of cigarette smoking among a sample of Chinese adults (n=710) and to examine predictors of cigarette smoking. Methods: A survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience sample of adults aged 18 years or older in China. Individuals who smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days were defined as smokers and considered as the study cohort. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to determine predictors of cigarette smoking for three outcomes: past 30-day use vs. no use, past 7-day use vs. no use, and past 24-hour use vs. no use. All statistical analyses were conducted using SAS version 9.2 statistical package. Results: More than half of the population had used a cigarette in the past month (56.16%), 54.97% in the past 7 days, and almost half of the population in the past 24 hours (49.28%). Significant predictors of smoking status included gender (male), marital status (married), employment status (employed), educational level (less than high school degree), exposure to tobacco advertisements through media (TV), peer pressure (smoke if cigarettes offered by others), intention to smoke (try smoking in the next year), and a previous experience to use tobacco (tried cigar at least once during one’s lifetime). Conclusions: These findings underscore the magnitude of the smoking problem among Chinese adult smokers. Urgent measures are needed to effectively control the growing smoking epidemic. Future studies should focus on incorporating the identified factors when designing prevention and intervention strategies among Chinese adult smokers.