Abstract:
This report examines the prevalence of current cigarette smoking and tobacco use among women and men in 49 developing countries. Data for the analysis were obtained from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 1999 and 2010. The report describes the proportion of women and men age 15-49 within the countries who report currently using manufactured cigarettes, other forms of smoked tobacco, and smokeless tobacco. The study also explores differentials in cigarette smoking by selected sociodemographic characteristics. The prevalence of any tobacco use varies substantially worldwide for women and men. For men, the prevalence of any tobacco use exceeds 40 percent in all the countries examined in North Africa/West Asia/Europe, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia. Timor-Leste has the highest prevalence of tobacco use for men, with 7 out of 10 men currently using at least one form of tobacco. Lower prevalence of tobacco use for men is generally found in countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America/Caribbean. Women are much less likely than men to report using tobacco in all the countries with available data. The highest prevalence of tobacco use for women is found in Madagascar (21 percent), Nepal (20 percent), and Ukraine (15 percent). The results show significant variation in the prevalence of cigarette smoking for women and men by age, marital status, level of education, urban-rural area, employment and cash earnings (women only), occupation (men only), household wealth, maternity status, exposure to mass media, and migration status (men only).