Trends in Smoking Prevalence and Intensity between 2010 and 2018: Implications for Tobacco Control in China
Guoting Zhang, Jiajia Zhan, Hongqiao Fu
Abstract
BACKGROUND: China is the world's largest producer and consumer of cigarettes. Since 2010, the Chinese government has implemented many policies to combat the tobacco epidemic, yet little is known about their overall impacts. This study aims to investigate the trends in smoking prevalence and intensity between 2010 and 2018. METHODS: -test to examine differences across waves. Binary logistic regressions and linear regressions are applied to examine the association between smoking behaviors and risk factors. RESULTS: The current smoking prevalence dropped from 30.30% in 2010 (90% CI 29.47-31.31) to 28.69% (90% CI 27.69-29.69) in 2018. As for smoking intensity, the average daily cigarettes consumption decreased steadily from 16.96 cigarettes (90% CI 16.55-17.36) in 2010 to 15.12 cigarettes (90% CI 15.07-15.94) in 2018. Smoking risk factors for men included marriage status, education level, employment status, alcohol consumption, and physical activities. The smoking risk was higher for women with a lower education level, lower household income, unemployment status, and alcohol consumption behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows declined trends in both smoking prevalence and intensity between 2010 and 2018, suggesting some positive progress in tobacco control in China. Nonetheless, to achieve the goal of reducing smoking prevalence among people aged 15 and above to less than 20% by 2030, the Chinese government needs to take stronger anti-tobacco measures.