The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: Determine the prevalence of smoking among the community aged 18 years and above and determine the association between smoking and age, sex, educational level, family and peer influence.

Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in Malaysia. All residents aged 18 years and above from selected households were included in this study. A standardized pre-tested structured questionnaire was used in this study.

Results: Out of 17,246 respondents, majority were Malays(55.5%) followed by Chinese(21.2%) and Indians(11%). The national age, sex and race adjusted prevalence of ever and current smokers were 31.4% and 24.4% respectively. The prevalence of ever and current smokers for males was significantly higher(59.3% and 47.2% respectively) as compared to the females (4.7% and 2.6% respectively). Amongst the males respondents, the prevalence of current smokers was highest amongst the Malays (55.6%), followed by the Bumiputra Sarawak(50.9%), Bumiputra Sabah(50.2%), Chinese (34.2%) and Indians (33.4%). Amongst the females respondents the prevalence of current smokers was highest among the Bumiputra Sarawak (5.2%) followed by the Chinese (2.8%), Malay and Bumiputra Sabah (2.6%) and Indians (0.5%). There was a significant association between smoking and race (p<0.001) and between current smoking status and education level (p<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that ever smoking was associated with race, age, sex, educational level and peer and family influence. Conclusion: the overall prevalence of ever and current smokers were 31.4% and 24.4% respectively. Smoking was associated with race, age, sex, educational level and peer and family influence.

Key words: Smoking, Prevalence, Peer Influence, Malaysia