Rural-Urban differentials in predicting tobacco consumption pattern among males above 15 years: A cross-sectional community survey

Abstract

Introduction: Globally, every year, more than 6 million people die because of tobacco use. 20% of all global deaths attributed to tobacco occur in India. The behavioral difference in the rural and urban communities is an important aspect of tobacco problem in the country. In this context, we conducted a community-based cross-sectional study to determine the effect of area (rural-urban) in predicting tobacco consumption pattern. Materials and Methods: A community-based observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural and an urban community of West Bengal from May 2014 to April 2015. A predesigned pretested schedule adapted from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey India Questionnaire was used for data collection. Males above 15 years of age, residing in the study areas, were interviewed during house-to-house visit. Results: Data obtained from the interview of 704 males (352 each from urban and rural area) above 15 years revealed that the prevalence of current tobacco use in any form is significantly higher in rural area (75.6%) than in urban area (67.6%). This was related to the fact that awareness and perception of the people in rural areas are significantly less than their urban counterparts. In bivariate analysis satisfactory consumption pattern was significantly more in urban area but when adjusted with all potentially explanatory variables, the odds of satisfactory consumption pattern in urban area was attenuated significantly. Conclusion: An appropriate intervention strategy, based on local area-wise behaviors of people to curb out the menace of tobacco use, is the need of the hour.