Prevalence and correlates of roll-your-own smoking in Thailand and Malaysia: Findings of the ITC-South East Asia Survey

Abstract

Roll-your-own (RYO) cigarette use has been subject to relatively limited research, particularly in developing countries. This paper seeks to describe RYO use in Thailand and Malaysia and relate RYO use to smokers' knowledge of the harmfulness of tobacco. Data come from face-to-face surveys with 4,004 adult smokers from Malaysia (N = 2,004) and Thailand (N = 2000), collected between January and March 2005. The prevalence of any use of RYO cigarettes varied greatly between Malaysia (17%) and Thailand (58%). In both countries, any RYO use was associated with living in rural areas, older average age, lower level of education, male gender, not being in paid work, slightly lower consumption of cigarettes, higher social acceptability of smoking, and positive attitudes toward tobacco regulation. Among RYO users, exclusive use of RYO cigarettes (compared with mixed use) was associated with older age, female gender (relatively), thinking about the enjoyment of smoking, and not making a special effort to buy cheaper cigarettes if the price goes up. Finally, exclusive RYO smokers were less aware of health warnings (RYO tobacco carries no health warnings), but even so, knowledge of the health effects of tobacco was equivalent.

CLINICAL STUDY: A comparison of exposure to carcinogens among roll‐your‐own and factory‐made cigarette smokers

“…While there is some variation from country to country (Young et al, 2008), many smokers tend to think that RYO cigarettes are more 'natural' and therefore may confer some health benefit over FM cigarettes (O'Connor et al, 2007;Young et al, 2006). Our results suggest that this is not the case.…”

“…This appears to be a response to tax increases of factory-made (FM) cigarettes as smokers switch to cheaper (often smuggled) products such as RYO tobacco (Gunby, 1994), especially among the most economically disadvantaged smokers (Young et al, 2006;Young et al 2008). Yet, despite this increase in the prevalence of RYO use, relatively little is known about the health impact of RYO cigarettes.…”

Malaysian and Thai smokers' beliefs about the harmfulness of ‘light’ and menthol cigarettes

“…TTM, Thailand Tobacco Monopoly; RYO roll your own.*Country differences at p<0.05.#Estimates from Young et al 19…”

Qualitative exploration of young adult RYO smokers' practices

“…2, p. 772). Despite these negative user profiles, RYO tobacco use has increased in many countries, including New Zealand,3 4 South Africa,5 Thailand,6 the UK, Australia and Canada,7 and Europe,8–10 as it is less expensive than tailor-made (TM) cigarettes 1 3…”