Prevalence of Cigarette Smoking and Nicotine Dependence in Men and Women Residing in Two Provinces in China

Abstract

AimsAlthough it is known that there is a high smoking prevalence among Chinese, key issues such as social and environmental factors impacting smoking initiation and persistence, the percentage of smokers considered nicotine dependence (ND), and the availability and use of ND treatments have rarely been investigated.MethodsTo address these issues, from 2012 to 2014, we conducted a large-scale study in the Zhejiang and Shanxi provinces of China using the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence and other validated questionnaires.ResultsOf the 17,057 subjects, consisting of 13,476 males and 3,581 females aged 15 years or older, the prevalence of male smoking was 66.1% [95% confidence interval (CI) 65.5%, 66.9%] and that of female smoking was 3.2% (95% CI 3.0%, 3.8%). Among males, 25.8% (95% CI 25.0%, 26.5%) were low-to-moderate ND, and 11.8% (95% CI 11.2%, 12.3%) were high ND (H-ND), persons who have significant difficulty quitting without treatment. The degrees of ND were related to age, extent of education, and annual family income. The social–environmental factors examined conveyed a higher risk for smoking initiation, which is particularly true for the influence of smoking by friends. Furthermore, current smokers had a significantly higher risk of suffering respiratory and digestive symptoms.ConclusionThese data not only show a high smoking prevalence in Chinese men but also reveal that a relatively large number of smokers are H-ND. Considering that few Chinese smokers seek ND treatment, a comprehensive smoking prevention and treatment program designed specifically for Chinese is greatly needed.

Ethnic disparities in prevalence and patterns of smoking and nicotine dependence in rural southwest China: a cross-sectional study

“…The present study also revealed that most current smokers in the five studied ethnic groups initiate smoking as well as begin regular smoking during adolescence, a finding which accords with previous studies,18 19 indicating smoking is a serious problem for teenagers in rural southwest China. In addition, all four ethnic minorities studied had a lower age of smoking initiation and of regular smoking than the Han population.…”

“…That males smoked significantly more and were more likely to have a nicotine addiction than females accords with other studies 21 22. However, the overall prevalence rate of current smoking and nicotine dependence among males was higher in the present study than in both previous Chinese studies as well as studies in other countries 18 23. The findings thus provide further evidence that smoking and nicotine dependence remains a widespread challenge for rural Chinese male adults, particularly in ethnic minority populations.…”

<p>Association of Cigarette Smoking with Sleep Disturbance and Neurotransmitters in Cerebrospinal Fluid</p>

“…Due to extremely few female smokers in China, 25 we consecutively recruited 159 Han Chinese male subjects who had scheduled for surgery of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction from 2014 to 2016, including 81 active smokers and 78 non-smokers. Sociodemographic data, including age and years of education, and clinical data such as the history of substance abuse and dependence were obtained according to self-report and confirmed by the next of kin and family members.…”

Simultaneous determination of plasma nicotine and cotinine by UHPLC–MS/MS in C57BL/6 mice and its application in a pharmacokinetic study

“…Cigarette smoking, a worldwide public health problem, is a major cause of death from lung and cardiovascular disease and cancer. (Benowitz, ) The prevalence of smoking is 66.1 and 3.2% for males and females, respectively, in China, perhaps the highest prevalence in the world owing to the low price of cigarettes and poor national education (Chaloupka, Sweanor, & Warner, ; Ma et al, ). Considering the large population in China, smoking is a big public health problem.…”