Knowledge and practices regarding cigarette smoking among adult women in a rural district of Sindh, Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of cigarette smoking and to obtain information on socio-demographic factors and attitude regarding cigarette smoking among adult women in a rural district of Sindh Province, Pakistan. METHODS A cross sectional community based survey was done in a rural district of Sindh province of Pakistan using a two stage cluster sampling design. A pre tested questionnaire was used to interview 502 adult women (aged 18- 60 years) from the study site. The study was approved by the ethical research committee and informed consent was taken from participants. RESULTS A total of 502 women were interviewed for this study. Approximately 71% of women were illiterate and 44% of women were in the age group of 18-24 years. A high number (10%) of adult women were smokers. Age at initiation among women (18-24 years) was 42%. A significant difference for questions regarding smoking effects on health (p = 0.02) and knowledge regarding smoking causes respiratory disease (p = 0.02) was observed in this survey. CONCLUSION It was concluded that the prevalence of smoking among women is on the rise in this rural district of Pakistan. Young age at initiation is an important finding that needs to be addressed.