Tobacco prevention policies in west-African countries and their effects on smoking prevalence

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Volker Winkler¹  Yong Lan¹  Heiko Becher² 

[1] Institut für Public Health, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany;Institut für Public Health, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany;Institut für Medizinische Biometrie und Epidemiologie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany;

关键词: Smoking prevalence;    Policy measures;    Tobacco control;    MPOWER;    West-Africa;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-015-2562-z

 received in 2015-06-12, accepted in 2015-12-03,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control was shown to effectively lower smoking prevalence in in high income countries, however knowledge for low and middle income settings is sparse. The objective of this study was to describe WHO MPOWER policy measures in thirteen West-African countries and to investigate their correlation with smoking prevalence.MethodsAge-standardized smoking prevalence data and policy measures were collected from various WHO reports. For analysis MPOWER measures from 2008 and 2010, were combined with prevalence data from 2009 and 2011. Multiple linear regression models were set up.ResultsIn West-Africa mean smoking prevalence was approximately 20 % among males and approximately 3 % among females. Policy measures were mostly at a middle or low level. Regression analysis showed that tobacco cessation programs, health warnings on cigarettes, and higher price of cigarettes were negatively correlated with smoking prevalence. Significant effects were observed for only one policy measure (tobacco cessation programs) and only within the male population where smoking prevalence is generally higher.ConclusionsTobacco control policies are enforced at relatively low levels in West-African countries. However, improving tobacco control policy implementation according to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control should assist in the reduction of smoking prevalence in African countries, thereby counteracting pro-smoking initiatives set forth by the tobacco industry.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Winkler et al. 2015