Tobacco consumption and illegal drug use among Bangladeshi males: association and determinants

Substance use behavior and its lifestyle-related risk factors in Bangladeshi high school-going adolescents: An exploratory study

Substance abuse is a major concern worldwide and is increasing rapidly in Bangladesh. However, there are no prior studies concerning lifestyle-related factors that influence adolescents' substance use behavior. Therefore, the present study investigated the prevalence of substance use and its associated sociodemographic and lifestyle-related risk factors among a total of 424 Bangladeshi high school-going adolescents through a structured questionnaire interview study. The survey questionnaire consisted of socio-demographics, lifestyle-related information, and substance use-related questions. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 22.0, and a p-value of <0.05 determined statistical significance. Results showed that 21.2%, 14.4%, and 15.1% of the participants reported smoking, using a drug, and consuming alcohol, respectively, at least once during their lifespan; whereas the current (i.e., past-month) rates were reported to be 10.4%, 2.8%, and 3.1%, respectively. Overall, the current substance use risk factors were identified as being male, not being from science academic background, having less family influence on personal life, irregular teeth brushing, being smartphone users, using a smartphone for a longer time, and being late-night sleepers. From the list of identified risk factors of substance use, those that are modifiable may be targeted to evolve a prevention program to manage this problem in Bangladeshi adolescents.

Tobacco control policies to promote awareness and smoke-free environments in residence and workplace to reduce passive tobacco smoking in Bangladesh and its correlates

Background

Bangladesh is one of the highest tobacco consuming countries in the world, with reported 21.2% of the population as daily smokers, 24.3% as smokeless tobacco users, and 36.3% as adult passive smoker. Given the high prevalence and established harmful effects of passive tobacco smoking, this study aimed to estimate of pattern of smoking policies in residential and work place, and to identify the associated socio-economic and demographic correlates in Bangladesh.

Data and methods

Secondary data of sample size 9629 collected by the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2010 has been used. Along with descriptive analysis, binary logistic regression model has been used to analyze the socio-demographic and economic correlates to tobacco smoking policy.

Results

The prevalence of male and female passive tobacco smokers was 74.3% and 25.8% respectively. Among the passive tobacco smokers, 22.2% reported that smoking was allowed at their home and 29.8% reported that there was no such smoking policy at their home. Alternatively, 26.0% passive tobacco smokers reported that smoking was allowed and 27.5% reported that there was no such smoking policy at their work place. Logistic regression analysis indicated that for tobacco smokers group, the odds of allowing smoking at home was 4.85 times higher than the non-smoker respondent (OR = 4.85, 95% CI = 4.13, 5.71), 1.18 times more likely to be allowed at home in rural areas than urban areas (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.06,1.32) and less for college/university completed and (or) higher educated respondent than no formal schooling (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.24, 0.52). On the other hand, smoking was 1.70 times more likely to be allowed at work place for tobacco smokers than their counter part respondent (OR = 1.70, 95% CI = 1.36, 2.14) and was less likely to be allowed for college/university completed and (or) higher educated respondent (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.14, 0.45) than respondent with no formal schooling.

Conclusion

To reduce the passive smoking, lower educated people and people in urban areas should advocate more about the adverse effect of active and passive tobacco smoking. Also, smoking policy should reform introducing smoking zone at work places and residential buildings.

Determinant factors of tobacco use among ever-married men in Bangladesh

Background

The burden of tobacco use is shifting from developed to developing countries. This study aimed to explore the different types of tobacco use, and to identify the determinant factors associated with the tobacco use among ever-married men in Bangladesh.

Data and methods

Data of 3,771 ever-married men, 15–54 years of age were extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007. Prevalence rate, chi-square (χ²) test, and binary logistic regression analysis were used as the statistical tools to analyze the data.

Results

Tobacco use through smoking (58.68%) was found to be higher than that of chewing (21.63%) among men, which was significantly more prevalent among the poorest, less educated, and businessmen. In bivariate analysis, all the socioeconomic factors were found significantly associated with tobacco use; while in multivariate analysis, age, education, wealth index, and occupation were identified as the significant predictors.

Conclusion

Tobacco use was found to be remarkably common among males in Bangladesh. The high prevalence of tobacco use suggests that there is an urgent need for developing intervention plans to address this major public health problem in Bangladesh.

Prevalence and Pattern of Smoking among Bus Drivers of Dhaka, Bangladesh

BACKGROUND

Smoking is an increasingly prevalent habit in Bangladesh, particularly among men with low socioeconomic status.

AIM

The aim of this study was determining the prevalence and pattern of smoking among bus drivers of Dhaka city, Bangladesh.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was carried out from 15 to 26 March 2013 among four hundred bus drivers of Dhaka city, Bangladesh aged between 18 and 50 determining the prevalence, pattern, and socioeconomic determinants of smoking. Data were input into a pre-designed access database with data management and analysis using standard statistical tools (SPSS-15) to assess significance through cross-tabulation.

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of smoking among bus drivers was 93%, and 20% of their daily income was spent on smoking. Though most (32.3%) of the drivers started smoking before involving in driving profession, but excessive smoking had been promoted by occupational and environmental stress experiencing hectic work schedule. Individuals with no education were three times (odds ratio (OR) 2.8; 95% CI 1.2-6.13) more likely to be smoker. Smoking was detected among 53.2% of smokers aged 26 or above (χ (2) = 8.30, P < 0.05), and they showed significantly high prevalence. The reasons behind smoking were almost exclusively habit (38.1%), peer influence (26.8%), and thinking of stress relief (25.3%). Smoking can also worsen poverty among users and their families because most of the drivers reported chest pain (34.4%), heart disease (25.8%), and other health complications caused by smoking depriving families of much-needed income and imposing additional costs of health care.

CONCLUSION

Interventions and preventions by policy makers, public health experts, and other stakeholders should be introduced considering high prevalence of smoking among Bangladeshi bus drivers with detrimental health sequel.

Tobacco smoking and its association with illicit drug use among young men aged 15-24 years living in urban slums of Bangladesh

Background

Tobacco smoking (TS) and illicit drug use (IDU) are of public health concerns especially in developing countries, including Bangladesh. This paper aims to (i) identify the determinants of TS and IDU, and (ii) examine the association of TS with IDU among young slum dwellers in Bangladesh.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Data on a total of 1,576 young slum dwellers aged 15–24 years were extracted for analysis from the 2006 Urban Health Survey (UHS), which covered a nationally representative sample of 13,819 adult men aged 15–59 years from slums, non-slums and district municipalities of six administrative regions in Bangladesh. Methods used include frequency run, Chi-square test of association and multivariable logistic regression. The overall prevalence of TS in the target group was 42.3%, of which 41.4% smoked cigarettes and 3.1% smoked bidis. The regression model for TS showed that age, marital status, education, duration of living in slums, and those with sexually transmitted infections were significantly (p<0.001 to p<0.05) associated with TS. The overall prevalence of IDU was 9.1%, dominated by those who had drug injections (3.2%), and smoked ganja (2.8%) and tari (1.6%). In the regression model for IDU, the significant (p<0.01 to p<0.10) predictors were education, duration of living in slums, and whether infected by sexually transmitted diseases. The multivariable logistic regression (controlling for other variables) revealed significantly (p<0.001) higher likelihood of IDU (OR = 9.59, 95% CI = 5.81–15.82) among users of any form of TS. The likelihood of IDU increased significantly (p<0.001) with increased use of cigarettes.

Conclusions/Significance

Certain groups of youth are more vulnerable to TS and IDU. Therefore, tobacco and drug control efforts should target these groups to reduce the consequences of risky lifestyles through information, education and communication (IEC) programs.

A cross-country comparison of tobacco consumption among youths from selected South-Asian countries

BACKGROUND

Tobacco consumption (TC) among youths poses significant public health problem in developing countries. This study utilized the data of Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS), 2007 to examine and compare youth TC behavior in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

METHODS

The GYTS covered a total of 2,242 Bangladeshi, 1,444 Nepalese and 1,377 Sri-Lankan youths aged 13-15 years. They represented response rates of 88.9%, 94.6%, and 85.0% for the three countries, respectively. Socioeconomic, environmental, motivating, and programmatic predictors of TC were examined using cross tabulations and logistic regressions.

RESULTS

Prevalence of TC was 6.9% (9.1% in males, 5.1% in females) in Bangladesh, 9.4% (13.2% in males, 5.3% in females) in Nepal and 9.1% (12.4% in males, 5.8% in females) in Sri Lanka. The average tobacco initiation age was 9.6, 10.24 and 8.61 years, respectively. Cross tabulations showed that gender, smoking among parents and friends, exposure to smoking at home and public places, availability of free tobacco were significantly (P < 0.001) associated with TC in all three countries. The multivariable analysis [odds ratio (95% confidence interval)] indicated that the common significant predictors for TC in the three countries were TC among friends [1.9 (1.30-2.89) for Bangladesh, 4.10 (2.64-6.38) for Nepal, 2.34 (1.36-4.02) for Sri Lanka], exposure to smoking at home [1.7 (1.02-2.81) for Bangladesh, 1.81 (1.08-2.79) for Nepal, 3.96 (1.82-8.62) for Sri Lanka], exposure to smoking at other places [2.67 (1.59-4.47) for Bangladesh, 5.22 (2.76-9.85) for Nepal, 1.76 (1.05-2.88) for Sri Lanka], and the teaching of smoking hazards in schools [0.56 (0.38-0.84) for Bangladesh, 0.60 (0.41-0.89) for Nepal, 0.58 (0.35-0.94) for Sri Lanka].

CONCLUSIONS

An understanding of the influencing factors of youth TC provides helpful insights for the formulation of tobacco control policies in the South-Asian region.

Adolescent tobacco use and its determinants: evidence from Global Youth Tobacco Survey, Bangladesh 2007

Adolescent tobacco use (ATU) is on the rise worldwide and the problem is particularly severe in developing countries. Based on nationally representative data, this study aims to investigate the association between ATU and its possible correlates for Bangladesh, where the prevalence rate of ATU is high. The data set is extracted from the Global Youth Tobacco Survey for Bangladesh conducted in 2007. The survey collected information from a total of 3113 students from 52 schools, with a response rate of 100% at the school level, while a response rate of 88.9% was achieved from the students. Students covered in the survey were in grades 7, 8, 9, and 10, with age ranging from 11 to 17 years. The prevalence rate of ATU at the time of the survey was 8.4%, while 35.6% of the students had used at least a type of tobacco products before. Logistic regressions were used to obtain the odds ratios (ORs) in favor of ATU for each of the possible determinants and the confidence intervals (CIs) of these ratios. Use of tobacco among friends (OR = 3.46; CI = 2.37-5.05), the experience of seeing others smoking at home (OR = 2.10; CI = 1.36-3.22) or other places (OR = 1.6; CI = 1.02-2.57), receiving pocket money (OR = 7.6; CI = 4.59-13.28), receiving free tobacco from vendors (OR = 2.3; CI = 1.44-3.78), and exposure to advertisements and promotions of tobacco products (OR = 1.83; CI = 1.23-2.79) were associated with a higher likelihood of ATU. Increased awareness of health hazards of tobacco use through education in schools helped mitigate the problem of ATU. The findings of this study have ramifications for tobacco control prevention strategies in Bangladesh.