ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the proportion of individuals using various forms of tobacco among the adult multi-ethnic population in Ajman UAE
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among adults above the age of 18 years residing in Ajman Emirate. Individuals not consented to participate were excluded from the study. The minimum sample size for this study was calculated as 4000. Quota sampling technique was used to recruit the participants from various shopping malls and GC hospital in Ajman. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used which included the socio-demographic characteristics [such as age, gender, education, occupation, nationality etc.], the type of tobacco use [cigarette, cigar, shisha, dokha or other forms], frequency and duration of use, factors influencing the use and choice, and potential barriers in quitting tobacco use
Results: For this study, we have included 4047 residents of Ajman, 2022 Asians, 929 Arabs, 763 Emiratis and 333 others. The gender distribution showed, 56.4% were males and the remaining were females. With regard to age, 6.7% were less than 21 years, 42.9% were 21- 30 years, 29.5% were 31-40 years, 12.5% were 41-50 years, 6.2% were 51-60 years and 2.2% were 61 and above. Among the total, 31.7% were past or present tobacco user. The prevalence among male was 44.7% and among female was 14.7%. With regard to the prevalence of types of tobacco use, cigarette 26.1%, cigar 2.6%, shisha 10.3%, dokha 2.7%, 1% snuff and chewing tobacco 2.6% and other forms 0.9%. There was a significant difference [p<0.05] in the prevalence of cigarette use among males and females
Conclusion: The overall prevalence of tobacco habit was less among Emiratis compared to participants from other countries and a significant difference with regard to gender