PREVALENCE OF SMOKING AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG THAI POPULATION IN NAKHONRATCHASIMA

Abstract

Smoking is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. This study employed a cross-sectional household survey aimed at assessing the prevalence of smoking and identifying associated risk factors. The target population comprised Thai nationals registered in the civil registry of Nakhon Ratchasima Province in 2024, aged between 12 and 65 years. A four-stage stratified cluster random sampling technique was used to recruit 3,122 participants who voluntarily participated in the study. Data were collected through structured face-to-face interviews and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including frequency, odds ratio (OR), 95% confidence interval (CI), point estimation, chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and multiple logistic regression.
The findings revealed that 607,997 individuals in Nakhon Ratchasima had ever smoked. Of these, 37.28% had quit smoking, while 381,313 individuals remained current smokers, yielding a smoking prevalence of 19.22 per 100 populations. In the past month, 369,449 people reported smoking, with 70.99% identified as regular smokers. Risk factor analysis among regular smokers showed that: Those with employment were 4.717 times more likely to be regular smokers than the unemployed (AOR = 4.717, 95% CI = 1.949–11.418). E-cigarette users were 57.154 times more likely to be regular smokers compared to non-users (AOR = 57.154, 95% CI = 34.442–94.442). Substance users were 2.758 times more likely to exhibit regular smoking behavior than non-users (AOR = 2.758, 95% CI = 1.677–4.535). Males were 13.731 times more likely to smoke regularly than females (AOR = 13.731, 95% CI = 6.480–29.097). Adults had a 7.048-fold higher risk of regular smoking compared to adolescents (AOR = 7.048, 95% CI = 3.360–14.786). Individuals living outside municipal areas were 4.157 times more likely to smoke regularly than those living within municipalities (AOR = 4.157, 95% CI = 2.619–6.597).