Background: The objective of this study was to describe cigarette smoking prevalence among adults in Lebanon and to evaluate the profile of light cigarette smokers compared to never and heavy smokers.
Methods: Data were taken from a cross-sectional study carried out from October 2009 to September 2010, using a multistage cluster sampling all over Lebanon. Lebanese residents aged 40 years and above were enrolled in the study with no exclusion criteria. After an oral informed consent, subjects answered a questionnaire, including detailed smoking history and cigarette dependence. SPSS version 17.0 was used for data analysis.
Results: Out of 2201 individuals, 1320 (60.0%) had ever smoked cigarettes, out of whom 10.1% were light cigarette smokers. The adjusted odds ratio estimate of cigarette smoking was 3.08 for males compared to females (P<0.001), 1.13 for lower education (P=0.016), 1.87 and 3.12 for retired and jobless compared to working (P=0.001 and P<0.001) respectively, 1.17 for older age (P<0.001), 1.68 for presence versus absence of a family history of chronic respiratory disease (P<0.001), and 5.27 and 1.99 for presence compared to absence of at least one smoker at home (P<0.001) and at work (P<0.001) respectively.
Conclusion: This is the first epidemiological study in Lebanon that determined cigarette smoking prevalence at the national level. In Lebanon, males of the older generation seem to have higher smoking prevalence and dosing.