This study compares the
epidemiology of smoking between daily smokers (DS) and non daily
smokers(NDS)among males in rural Egypt.
Household
interview surveys were carried out in 9 villages in rural Egypt. NDS was defined as a
person who had ever smoked 100 cigarettes and smoked fewer than 30
days within the past 30 days prior to the survey.
Results:
Among
4994 males interviewed, 1796 (36%) were current smokers and 97(5.4%)
of them were NDS and they were significantly more likely to be younger
and unmarried (p<.05). The average age of trying to smoke and
smoking a whole cigarette for DS was a year younger than for the NDS.
On average, NDS smoked 15 days/month and smoked 7.8 cigarettes/day on
the days they smoked for the past 6 years. In contrast DS smoked on
average of 20.4 cigarettes/day for 11 years(P<.001). NDS are more
likely to smoke waterpipe(51.1% versus 30.5%p<.01) or quit in the
next 12 months and find it easier not to smoke in public places where
smoking is not allowed(p<.001). As regards rules of smoking at
worksite, 17.8% of NDS versus 6.8% of DS reported a total ban.
Conclusion:
NDS
differ significantly from DS and may be more responsive to
environmental tobacco control such as worksite restrictions.
Longitudinal studies are needed to study the smoking patterns of NDS
in depth.
