OBJECTIVE: To understand the sociodemographic factors associated with daily consumption of cigarettes and pattern of cigarette use among Brazilian smokers. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was performed in 2005 involving the 108 largest Brazilian cities. Data were collected through interviews with subjects aged 12 to 65 years in randomly selected households. Based on a questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian context, a logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample and smoking. RESULTS: Of the 7,921 subjects interviewed, 16.4% reported daily use of cigarettes. The smoking prevalence was similar between genders, although women reported to start smoking at a later age and smoke fewer cigarettes per day. Almost 65% of the smokers were interested in quitting or reducing their smoking habit. The main sociodemographic characteristics associated with smoking were as follows: adult age (30-59 years old), unemployment, low education level, and low socioeconomic level. Alcohol abuse was also shown to be associated with smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that adverse socioeconomic characteristics are implicated in increased susceptibility to smoking in Brazil. In our sample, a high proportion of smokers reported interest to quit or reduce smoking. These data suggest that sociodemographic factors should be considered in the elaboration of smoking prevention and treatment policies.
Tobacco; Smoking; Epidemiology; Brazil; Cross-sectional studies
