title: Smoking and smokeless tobacco use in nine South and Southeast Asian countries: prevalence estimates and social determinants from Demographic and Health Surveys.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In South and Southeast Asian countries, tobacco is consumed in diverse forms, and smoking among women is very low. We aimed to provide national estimates of prevalence and social determinants of smoking and smokeless tobacco use among men and women separately.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from Demographic and Health Surveys completed in nine countries (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Timor Leste) were analyzed. Current smoking or smokeless tobacco use was assessed as response "yes" to one or more of three questions, such as "Do you currently smoke cigarettes?" Weighted country-level prevalence rates for socio-economic subgroups were calculated for smoking and smokeless tobacco use. Binary logistic regression analyses were done on STATA/IC (version 10) by 'svy' command.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prevalence and type of tobacco use among men and women varied across the countries and among socio-economic sub groups. Smoking prevalence was much lower in women than men in all countries. Smoking among men was very high in Indonesia, Maldives, and Bangladesh. Smokeless tobacco (mainly chewable) was used in diverse forms, particularly in India, among both men and women. Chewing tobacco was common in Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Cambodia. Both smoking and smokeless tobacco use were associated with higher age, lower education, and poverty, but their association with place of residence and marital status was not uniform between men and women across the countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Policymakers should consider type of tobacco consumption and their differentials among various population subgroups to implement country-specific tobacco control policies and target the vulnerable groups. Smokeless tobacco use should also be prioritized in tobacco control efforts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Chandrashekhar T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Sreeramareddy
authors.affiliation: Consultant Senior Public Health Officer (Influenza Surveillance Project), Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal.
authors.forename: Pranil Man Singh
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Pradhan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Imtiyaz Ali
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Mir
authors.affiliation: Department of Pre-clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Tunku Abdul Rahman, Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shwe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sin
keywords: Prevalence; Smokeless tobacco use; Smoking; Social determinants; South and Southeast Asia