SMOKING STATUS, KNOWLEDGE OF HEALTH-EFFECTS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS TOBACCO CONTROL IN SOUTH-AFRICA

Objective. To provide data on the South African adult population's smo king status, their knowledge of the health effects of tobacco and thei r attitudes towards tobacco control in South Africa. Methodology. A na tional representative sample of 2 238 adult (> 18 years) South African s was surveyed by means of an interviewer-administered questionnaire.R esults. Thirty-four per cent of adult South Africans smoke (52% male, 17% female). There were notable differences in gender smoking rates fo r Indians (61% of men and only 7% of women smoke) and blacks (53% of m en and 10% of women smoke) but not for coloureds (58% of men and 59% o f women smoke), Provinces with the highest smoking rates are the North ern Cape (55%), Western Cape (48%) and North-West (46%), Forty-eight p er cent of respondents reported that at least one household member smo ked, The majority of the respondents (87%) acknowledged the harmful ef fects of direct smoking, Fifty-eight per cent were aware that cancer i s associated with smoking but only 36% associated heart disease with s moking, Sixty per cent of the respondents have tried to quit at least once for reasons such as the protection of their own health, the expen se of tobacco products and because of a medical doctor's advice, Confu sion existed with regard to the effects of the cigarette constituents described on cigarette packages. Forty-two per cent of adults incorrec tly indicated that nicotine causes cancer while 28% correctly indicate d that it causes addiction, and 44% correctly indicated that condensat e causes cancer. There is substantial support for a total ban of tobac co advertising on radio (61%), for local authorities to regulate smoki ng in public places (78%), for government assistance to farmers for to bacco crop replacement (53%) and for an increase in tobacco excise tax if the money is used for health purposes (50%). Conclusion. The extre mely high proportion of both male and female coloured smokers is a cau se for concern and requires prompt action. Knowledge of the specific e ffects of tobacco in respect of active and passive smoking needs to be improved and this could be a first step towards facilitating behaviou r changer The public support that exists for stronger measures against tobacco use, promotion, pricing and growing provides many opportuniti es for health promotion action.