title: Smoking in adults in Sri Lanka: prevalence and attitudes.
abstract: A questionnaire was administered to 1565 adults to identify the prevalence of smoking and to assess respondents' attitudes toward smoking. Of men 41% were yearly smokers, 27.8% were monthly smokers and 21% were daily smokers. The corresponding figures for women were 3.4%, 2% and 0.6% respectively. Higher prevalence rates were observed among less educated, middle-aged men who were from underprivileged families. About 23% of men and 0.9% of women were monthly alcohol users. Alcohol use seems to be positively associated with smoking. A considerable portion of both smokers and non-smokers expressed a favorable attitude towards smoking habits of adult males (40.1% of smokers and 12.8% of non-smokers) and towards the tobacco industry (25.1% of smokers and 13.1 of non-smokers). Since the majority of people in Sri Lanka are non-smokers, attitudinal support given by them in promoting smoking in the society needs to be addressed effectively in smoking control interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna, Galle, Sri Lanka. pperera@indiana.edu
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Perera
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fonseka
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ekanayake
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lelwala
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology