title: Prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with tobacco smoking among adult males in rural Sindh, Pakistan.
abstract: This cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of tobacco smoking and to obtain information on socio-demographic factors associated with tobacco smoking among adult males in a rural district of Sindh Province, Pakistan. We used a one-stage cluster sampling frame to identify 411 adult males from the study site. We found a high prevalence, 55% of current smokers among this rural population. The median age of initiation of smoking was 20 years. Awareness of the adverse effects of smoking on lung and heart diseases was 86% and 77%, respectively. Smoking prevalence increased with age and income, and was highest among subjects aged 44 years and above (76%) and with incomes of more than PKR 4000 (72%). The high prevalence of smoking suggests that there is an urgent need for developing intervention plans to address this major public health problem in this region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Pakistan. sajidali@uab.edu
authors.forename: Sajid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Nalini
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sathiakumar
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Delzell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors