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. 2022 Mar 21;22(1):555.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12893-8.

Tobacco use prevalence and its determinate factor in Ethiopia- finding of the 2016 Ethiopian GATS

Sisay Derso Mengesha  1 , Kirubel Tesfaye Teklu  2 , Abel Weldetinsae  2 , Melaku Gizaw Serte  2 , Moa Abate Kenea  2 , Daniel Abera Dinssa  2 , Mesay Getachew Woldegabriel  2 , Tsigereda Assefa Alemayehu  2 , Wassihun Melaku Belay  3
Affiliations

Tobacco use prevalence and its determinate factor in Ethiopia- finding of the 2016 Ethiopian GATS

Sisay Derso Mengesha et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Tobacco, one of the risk factors for non-communicable diseases, kills 8 million people each year. Like other sub-Saharan countries, Ethiopia faces the potential challenge of a tobacco epidemic. However, there is no organized data on the prevalence of tobacco use in the country. Therefore, this study aims to determine adult tobacco use in Ethiopia.

Methods: The study was conducted using the WHO and CDC GATS survey methods. Complex survey analysis was used to obtain prevalence and population estimates with 95% confidence intervals. Bivariate regression analyses were employed to examine factors related to tobacco use.

Results: The overall tobacco use percentage was 5.0% [95% CI (3.5, 6.9)], of which 65.8% [95% CI (53.4, 76.3)] only smoked tobacco products; 22.5% [95% CI (15.7, 31.2)] used smokeless tobacco only; and 11.8% [95% CI (6.5, 20.4)] used both smoked and smokeless tobacco products. In 2016, more men adults (8.1%) used tobacco than women did (1.8%). Eight out of eleven states have a higher smoking rate than the national average (3.7%). Gender, employment, age, religion, and marital status are closely linked to current tobacco use (p-value< 0.05). Men adults who are employed, married, and mostly from Muslim society are more likely to use tobacco.

Conclusion: The prevalence of tobacco use is still low in Ethiopia. However, the percentage of female smokers is increasing, and regional governments such as Afar and Gambella have a relatively high prevalence. This calls for the full implementation of tobacco control laws following the WHO MPOWER packages. A tailored tobacco control intervention targeting women, younger age groups, and regions with a high proportion of tobacco use are recommended.

Keywords: Ethiopia; GATS; NCD; Predicting factor; Tobacco use.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number of adults ≥15 years old, by detailed smoking status and gender – Ethiopian GATS, 2016
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage of adults ≥15 years old who are current smokers of any smoked tobacco products, by place of residence – Ethiopian GATS, 201
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Percentage distribution of ever daily smokers 20–34 years old by age at daily smoking initiation by gender, Ethiopian GATS 2016
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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