3.1. November 2000 national representative smoking prevalence survey in Ukraine

The survey was conducted in November 2000. 1797 respondents from ages 15 to 82 were interviewed as a national representative sample.

The core questions of the survey were taken from the standard WHO questionnaire (see “Guidelines for controlling and monitoring the tobacco epidemic. Tobacco or health programme. World Health Organization. – March 1996”).

The survey revealed that 40% of the respondents never smoked, 11% were only experimenters (have smoked less than 100 cigarettes during lifetime), 34% smoke daily, 6% smoke occasionally, and 9% quit smoking. From those who smoke or smoked regularly, 53% began to smoke daily before the age of 18 years. The situation among men and women differs fundamentally. Among men 14% have never smoked and 58% are daily smokers, while among women 14% smoke daily and 62% have never smoked.

If we consider smoking prevalence by level of education, the trend among men is the same as in developed countries: the higher the education, the smaller the proportion of daily smokers/experimenters and the larger the proportion of those who have never smoked and quitters. In contrast, among women an increase in levels of education amounts to a larger proportion of smokers and a smaller proportion of those who have never smoked, while, like men, the proportion of quitters is higher among better-educated women.

65% of those who smoke wish to quit and 60% already have tried to do so. 9% of the respondents successfully quit smoking (they were daily smokers, but do not currently smoke).

Thus, the number of people who have tried to quit smoking but could not is three times more than those who were able to stop smoking. However, only 2% of smokers applied for professional smoking cessation help and only 5% of them used some sort of medicine for quitting.

84% of the respondents believe that environmental tobacco smoke harms their health, but only 52% worry when someone smokes around them, and only 40% try to ask other people to not smoke in their presence. Only 20% of the respondents have replied that smokers sometimes ask for permission to smoke.

Taking such behavior into account, 87% of the respondents consider that the rights of non-smokers should be protected by a smoking ban in public places (such as public transport, schools, sports facilities, stadiums, and discos).

49% of the respondents support a complete ban of tobacco advertising and only 5% support lifting the ban of tobacco advertising on radio and TV.

52% of the respondents support the introduction of a tax on tobacco products, which would be used for Pension insurance fund, 33% consider that this tax should be increased, and only 15% thought that this tax should be reduced or cancelled.