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Global Health Matters

November - December, 2007  |  Volume 6, Issue 6

Smoking Rates of Argentinean Women Rank Among the World's Highest

A Fogarty-supported study has found that the overall prevalence of smokers in Argentina remains among the highest in the Americas--and rates among women exceed those in most countries of the world.

With a view to inform tobacco control policy, the study was designed to assess the demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with smoking behavior in a representative nationwide household survey of Argentina. Adults aged 20 years and older were asked during face-to-face interviews about their smoking status, frequency and age of initiation. The interviews were conducted by trained field workers using a structured questionnaire. Data were collected on a variety of household characteristics, as well as individual social, demographic and health factors. Multivariate logistic regression was used to compare social and demographic characteristics.

The present analysis included 23,423 women (53.4 percent) and 20,440 men (46.6 percent). Of the 43,863 participants, 38 percent of men and 24 percent of women were current smokers and 20 percent of current smokers smoked occasionally.

Smoking was less prevalent among older men and women, and their probability of quitting was higher. Men with more than high school education were less likely to be current smokers; rates for women did not differ by education. Smoking was not uniform among the different regions of the country. Among women, those living in the Metropolitan area, Central, Central West and Patagonia were significantly more likely to smoke than those living in the Northeast. Among men, those living in the Northwest and Patagonia were more likely to smoke.

The authors of the study report the data derived from their study seem to suggest a movement towards a decline in smoking among middle-aged and older men. They concluded that tobacco control interventions will need to be developed and adapted to reach smokers with limited formal education--particularly women.

Smoking Behavior and Demographic Risk Factors in Argentina: A Population-based Survey, Martinez E, Kaplan CP, Guil V, Gregorich SE, Mejia R, Perez-Stable, EJ, Prevention and Control 2006.