Smoking habits and disease patterns amongst hospital patients in north-east Nigeria

Abstract

A survey was carried out between October 1983 and April 1984 on smoking habits and disease patterns in African patients consecutively attending medical departments of two hospitals in Maiduguri, north-east Nigeria. In all 2346 adult patients completed a questionnaire under medical supervision, and the primary diagnosis was also recorded. Of 820 men 124 (15.1%) and of 1526 women five (0.3%) were current cigarette smokers; over 75% of all smokers consumed less than 20 cigarettes a day. Six hundred and four men (73.7%) and 1519 women (99.5%) had never smoked. No patients had bronchial carcinoma or myocardial infarction; one patient had exertional angina and two had emphysema. The high proportion of non-smokers amongst the patient population is considered an important factor accounting for the rarity of such diseases.