Prevalence of Smoking in 8 Countries of the Former Soviet Union: Results From the Living Conditions, Lifestyles and Health Study

Gilmore, Anna MSc, MFPH
Pomerleau, Joceline PhD, MSc
McKee, Martin MD, FRCP
Rose, Richard DPhil, BA
Haerpfer, Christian W. PhD, MSc
Rotman, David PhD
Tumanov, Sergej PhD

About the Authors: Anna Gilmore, Joceline Pomerleau, and Martin McKee are with the European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England. Richard Rose is with the Centre for the Study of Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. At the time of the study, Christian W. Haerpfer was with the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna, Austria. David Rotman is with the Center of Sociological and Political Studies, Belarus State University, Minsk, Belarus. Sergej Tumanov is with the Centre for Sociological Studies, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Anna Gilmore, MSc, MFPH, European Centre on Health of Societies in Transition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, England (e-mail: [email protected]).

This article was accepted December 29, 2003.

American Journal of Public Health 94(12):p 2177-2187, December 2004.

Objectives.

We sought to provide comparative data on smoking habits in countries of the former Soviet Union.

Methods.

We conducted cross-sectional surveys in 8 former Soviet countries with representative national samples of the population 18 years or older.

Results.

Smoking rates varied among men, from 43.3% to 65.3% among the countries examined. Results showed that smoking among women remains uncommon in Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova (rates of 2.4%-6.3%). In Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Russia, rates were higher (9.3%-15.5%). Men start smoking at significantly younger ages than women, smoke more cigarettes per day, and are more likely to be nicotine dependent.

Conclusions.

Smoking rates among men in these countries have been high for some time and remain among the highest in the world. Smoking rates among women have increased from previous years and appear to reflect transnational tobacco company activity.