Fifteen-year trends in the prevalence of tobacco smoking in the open male population

Tobacco smoking is much more widespread in Russia than in economically developed countries, although over the past two decades, there has been its lower prevalence and higher intensity in the males of the Russian Federation. It is imperative to study the population’s real response to the measures taken by the state to combat this risk factor for cardiovascular and other chronic non-communicable diseases in the high-smoking region that is Western Siberia. Objective: to investigate trends in the prevalence of tobacco smoking among 25-64-year-old males during 15 years of monitoring the population of a midurbanized city in Western Siberia. Subjects and methods. One-stage epidemiological studies were conducted on representative samples among able-bodied males in 1996 and 2010. The prevalence of tobacco smoking was determined during cardiac screenings according to the WHO questionnaire. Results. The 15-year monitoring of the Tyumen population showed a positive trend towards a decrease in the prevalence of tobacco smoking in able-bodied males, mainly in those 35 years old or older. The 15-year monitoring of the open population in a mid-urbanized Siberian city among 25-64-year-old males revealed an increase in the rates of quitting smoking in all age groups and a decrease in the proportions of never smokers in the third, fifth and sixth decades of life. Conclusion. An integrated approach to the problem with reducing the prevalence of tobacco smoking, by taking into account the impact on the level of conventional and non-conventional risk factors for non-communicable diseases, may be most successful for the effectiveness of prevention programs in the region.

smoking trends, population monitoring, males, smoking prevalence