The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: Establish behavioral risk factor levels and prevalence of chronic diseases among Filipino women aged 15 years old and over in the Philippines

Methods: Cross-sectional study among Filipino women aged 15 years old and over done in 2001. A three-stage stratified, cluster sampling design was utilized, all 16 health regions represented. A structured questionnaire modified from CDC's BRFSS was used for household face-to-face interview with a total of 3,738 women respondents.

Results: The prevalence of current tobacco use in the Philippines is 23.5%. About 8% of these current smokers are women. Around 10% had initiated smoking at ages 6-9 years, 14.3% at ages 10-15, 57% at ages 20-24, 19.8% at ages 25-30, and 5.3% at ages 30 and over. Socializing and relieving stress (80%) are reasons for smoking. Cigarette is the major (33%) type of tobacco product smoked. Only a quarter agrees that tobacco products should be advertised. Majority (80-95%) favor ban of tobacco use in public places. Over 95% perceived tobacco use causes chronic disabling diseases. Over half of these women have good perception of their health status, however, 13.2% of women has hypertension, 1.6% had MI, 1.8% has Angina or CAD, 2.0% had stroke, and 2.0 has diabetes. Conclusions: Tobacco use among women in the country is moderately high. Majority had initiated tobacco use at very young age. Tobacco use is a risk factor for chronic disease. A number of Filipino women are suffering from cardiovascular disease, stroke and diabetes.