Alam Zufishan, Elbarazi Iffat, Al Shehhi Budoor, AlSafi Maha Mohamed, Al Wahedi Mariam, Maarouf Ilfat Assaad, Hassan Aamir, Al-Houqani Mohammed
School of Health and Environmental Studies, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jun 26;13:1607965. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1607965. eCollection 2025.
Tobacco smoking is a leading yet preventable risk factor for morbidity and mortality worldwide. As in western countries, the Arab world also encounters the growing tobacco epidemic. Assessment of smoking prevalence is a key step in identification of emerging trends, thus enabling planning of preventive measures.
This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of tobacco smoking among applicants of the Premarital Screening Program, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates during 2019-2023. Data was collected from all participants who applied for the program, through a questionnaire enquiring about tobacco smoking habits and methods of use. Overall smoking prevalence was assessed for the five-year period, as well as individually for each year. Smoking patterns were observed for three distinct COVID-19 periods: pre-COVID (2019), peri-COVID (2020-21) and post-COVID (2022-23). The smoking patterns were also examined by gender and nationality status. The findings are based on responses of 74791 applicants, of which 47% were females and 68.4% UAE nationals.
The reported overall tobacco smoking prevalence was 14.6%, with cigarette and Midwakh (handheld pipe) being the most commonly used methods (6.6%), followed by water pipe (2.2%). Smoking levels were reported to be significantly higher in men and UAE nationals compared to women and non-nationals respectively. A general decline was observed in point prevalence of tobacco smoking levels from the pre-COVID period (19.1%) to the peri-COVID period (15.1%), and further to the post-COVID period (13.5%) as the pandemic restrictions eased.
There is a need of control measures and interventions to maintain the positive behavioral change, brought by the COVID-19 that resulted in tobacco use reduction. Furthermore, steps to curb use of Midwakh, which is becoming an increasingly popular method of choice, are also required.
吸烟是全球发病和死亡的主要可预防风险因素。与西方国家一样，阿拉伯世界也面临着日益严重的烟草流行问题。评估吸烟流行率是识别新趋势的关键一步，从而能够规划预防措施。
本研究旨在评估2019 - 2023年期间阿拉伯联合酋长国阿布扎比婚前筛查项目申请者中的吸烟流行情况。通过一份询问吸烟习惯和使用方法的问卷，收集了所有申请该项目参与者的数据。评估了五年期间的总体吸烟流行率，以及每年的单独流行率。观察了三个不同的新冠疫情时期的吸烟模式：新冠疫情前（2019年）、新冠疫情期间（2020 - 2021年）和新冠疫情后（2022 - 2023年）。还按性别和国籍状况对吸烟模式进行了研究。研究结果基于74791名申请者的回复，其中47%为女性，68.4%为阿联酋国民。
报告的总体吸烟流行率为14.6%，香烟和水烟管（手持烟斗）是最常用的方式（6.6%），其次是水烟袋（2.2%）。据报告，男性和阿联酋国民的吸烟率分别显著高于女性和非国民。随着疫情限制的放宽，从新冠疫情前时期（19.1%）到新冠疫情期间（15.1%），再到新冠疫情后时期（13.5%），吸烟率的点流行率总体呈下降趋势。
需要采取控制措施和干预措施，以维持新冠疫情带来的导致烟草使用减少的积极行为变化。此外，还需要采取措施遏制水烟管的使用，水烟管正日益成为一种流行的选择方式。
