Prevalence of Smoking among Men in Ethiopia and Kenya: A Cross-Sectional Study.

While tobacco use remains the largest single cause of premature death in the industrialized countries, low-and-middle income countries are also experiencing a rising burden of the tobacco epidemic and are making various programmatic efforts to tackle the issue. Evidence-based policy making is critical to the long-term success of tobacco intervention programs and is reliant on regular monitoring of the trends and prevalence rates of tobacco use though population-based surveys, which are sparse for countries in eastern Africa. Therefore, in the present study we aimed to (1) estimate the trends in the prevalence of self-reported smoking status; and (2) explore the sociodemographic factors associated with smoking among adult men in Ethiopia and Kenya. : Subjects were 26,919 adult men aged between 15 and 59 years from Ethiopia and Kenya. Nationally representative cross-sectional data on self-reported smoking and relevant sociodemographic indicators were collected from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in these two countries. Data analysis was performed by descriptive, bivariate, and multivariable methods. : In Ethiopia, the prevalence rate of smoking increased from 8.5% in 2005 to 11.7% in 2011. While in Kenya, the rate declined albeit slowly from 22.9% in 2003 to 18.8% in 2008⁻2009 and 17% in 2014. The prevalence was significantly different in urban and rural areas. In majority of the surveys, prevalence of smoking was highest in the age group of 25⁻34 years. The prevalence of smoking varied widely across several socioeconomic characteristics. : The findings indicate a high rate of smoking among men especially in urban areas, and call for policy actions to address the socioeconomic factors as a part of the policy to strengthen tobacco-control efforts.