Declining Prevalence of Tobacco Smoking in Vietnam

INTRODUCTION: To supplement limited information on tobacco use in Vietnam, data from a nationally-representative population-based survey was used to estimate the prevalence of smoking among 25-64 year-olds. METHODS: This study included 14,706 participants (53.5% females, response proportion 64%) selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling. Information was collected using the World Health Organization STEPwise approach to surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable disease (STEPS) questionnaire. Smoking prevalence was estimated with stratification by age, calendar year, and birth year. RESULTS: Prevalence of ever-smoking was 74.9% (men) and 2.6% (women). Male ever-smokers commenced smoking at median age of 19.0 (interquartile range [IQR]: 17.0, 21.0) years and smoked median quantities of 10.0 (IQR: 7.0, 20.0) cigarettes/day. Female ever-smokers commenced smoking at median age of 20.0 (IQR: 18.0, 26.0) years and smoked median quantities of 6.0 (IQR: 4.0, 10.0) cigarettes/day. Prevalence has decreased in recent cohorts of men (p = .001), and its inverse association with years of education (p CONCLUSIONS: Smoking prevalence is declining in recent cohorts of men, and continues to decline in successive cohorts of women, possibly in response to anti-tobacco initiatives commencing in the 1990s. Low proportions of quitters mean that Vietnamese smokers accumulate high exposures despite moderate quantities of cigarettes smoked per day.