Prevalence of smoking

In November, 2000 ADIC-Ukraine in cooperation with the Institute of Sociology conducted national representative survey on smoking prevalence in Ukraine. 1797 respondents aged from 15 to 82 years in total were surveyed by national representative sample. The survey was carried out according to a standard questionnaire of the World Health Organization. According to the survey results, 40% of the respondents never smoked, 11% were only experimenters (they have smoked less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime), 34% were daily smokers, 6% - irregular smokers, and 9% have quit smoking. 53% of those who smoke or smoked regularly, have begun daily smoking before the age of 18 years. The situation of male and female smoking differs much (Fig 4 a, b). Among men 14% were lifetime nonsmokers, 58% of them were daily smokers, among women 14% were daily smokers and 62% never smoked. Such a situation can change soon, because the average age of the smoking women is 32 years and smoking men - 42 years. 

When smoking prevalence is considered in relation to education of the respondents, males exhibit the trend common for most developed countries: the higher the education of men, the less is the proportion of daily smokers and experimenters and the larger is the proportion of those who do not smoke, or has quit. Among women, on the contrary, the higher the educational level the larger the proportion of smokers and experimenters, and the less is the part of those who never smoked, though the proportion of quitters becomes larger.
From those who smoke, 65% wish to quit smoking and 60% have already tried to do so. This means thirty percents of the adult population are unsuccessful in their attempts to quit. Only 9% of the surveyed adult population succeeded in quitting. Thus, there are three time more smokers, who tried to quit smoking, but could not, than those who could get rid of deadly habit.

84% of the respondents consider that the other people smoke is harmful to them, but only 52% feel disturbed, when someone smokes around them and only 40% tries to ask not to smoke in their presence. Besides only 20% of the respondents have replied, that the smokers ask their permission to smoke at least sometimes. Taking into account such behavior of the smokers, 87% of the respondents consider, that the rights of non-smokers should be protected by smoking ban in public places (such as public transport, schools, sports grounds, stadiums, disco).

According to WHO data (Smoking, Drinking and Drug taking in the European Region, 1997) prevalence of smoking in adults in Ukraine in early 1990s was 30% and Ukraine is in the middle of the list of European countries. According to the 1996 UN national representative survey among women of 18-30 23% of them smoke. Some survey data provided by the Institute of Cardiology (samples 3168-3250 persons) show that the favorable trend to decreasing prevalence of smoking, especially among young adult men in 1980-1990s was reversed last years. Smoking among medical doctors was 43% for males and 19% for females in 1998.

Data of the ESPAD survey (national representative survey conducted in 1994 among 6680 respondents of 15 years old) show that the on smoking prevalence among boys Ukraine had the highest indices in compare with other 21 survey European countries. 41 % of Ukrainian boys smoked more than 40 cigarettes during lifetime and 51% smoked during the last 30 days. For girls the respective figures are much lower 18% and 28% and Ukraine is in the middle of the list. Despite the very high level of smoking prevalence among young people the trend, at least in Kiev city, is favorable. According to the survey, conducted as part of the ESPAD survey in 1994 and 1998 smoking prevalence among 15 years old persons in Kiev clearly decreased. The respective figures of smoking prevalence were 42% and 51% in 1994 and 34% and 41% in 1998. 

However national survey of 1999 give the opposite results. In 1994 66% of adolescents smoked during life time and 69% in 1999, 38% of them smoked during the last 30 days in 1994 and 40% in 1999. These figures could reflect the fact that children in Kiev are more educated 

In 1999 Ukraine (Kiev city) took part in the WHO Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS). 4,156 young people (age 13-16) from 100 schools took part in the survey. Some results of the survey are presented in Table 5.

TOBACCO-RELATED MORTALITY