Work

Poverty Does Not Limit Tobacco Consumption in Cambodia

Year: 2013

Type: article

Abstract: Current data indicate that under conditions of poverty, tobacco is consumed at the expense of basic needs. In a large national sample from Cambodia, we sought to determine whether tobacco consumption declines under extreme conditions of no income and malnutrition. Our major findings are as follows: (1) Among men, there was no significant difference in the number of cigarettes smoked for no income (425, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 395-456) versus >US$2 per day (442, 95% CI = 407-477); (2) among women, there was no significant difference in the amount of loose tobacco (ie, betel quid) consumed for no income (539 g, 95% CI = 441-637) versus >US$2 per day (558 g, 95% CI = 143-973); (3) for the contrast of no income + malnutrition versus >US$2 per day + no malnutrition in a linear model, there was no significant difference for men who smoked (462 vs 517 cigarettes/month, P = .82) or women who chewed (316 vs 404 g tobacco/month, P = .34), adjusting for confounders. Among the poorest and malnourished Cambodian adults, lack of resources did not appear to prevent them from obtaining smoked or smokeless tobacco.

Source: Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health

DOI: 10.1177/1010539513486919

Authors: Pramil N. Singh, Dawn Washburn, Daravuth Yel, They Kheam, Jayakaran S. Job

Institutions: Loma Linda University, World Health Organization, CamEd Business School

Language: English

Topic: Smoking Behavior and Cessation

Subfield: Physiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funder: Fogarty International Center