Female smokers start earlier than men, says survey
While women start at an earlier age, men smoke way more cigarettes than women, according to the Ministry of Health-WHO survey
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Women in Oman start smoking three years before men do, a new survey from the Ministry of Health has found.
The National Survey on Non Communicable Diseases, which was organised by the ministry in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, also detailed how smokers in Oman consume nearly 10 cigarettes a day.
The National Survey on Non Communicable Diseases was organised by the ministry, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.
Data showed that, overall, those who used tobacco in Oman smoked 9.1 cigarettes a day, with men smoking 9.2 cigarettes a day, while most of them started at the age of 21. However, women began smoking earlier, with many of them trying their first cigarette at the age of 18, although their cigarette use was far lower, at just 2.1 cigarettes per day.
Organised as part of Oman’s Health Vision 2050, the data also showed that just 0.9 per cent of those surveyed had drunk alcohol in the past 12 months, and only 1.6 per cent of respondents drank in the past month. On average, those who did drink alcohol in Oman consumed about 3.3 drinks on a single occasion. Across Oman, only 3.5 per cent of the entire population consumed alcohol.
Doctors in Oman said that excessive smoking and alcohol consumption would lead to dangerous long-term health conditions. Data further showed that, on average, eight percent of people in Oman smoked. Also on average, 15.1 per cent of men were smokers, while only 0.4 per cent of women used cigarettes. Six percent of Omanis had developed a smoking habit, while more than double that number – 13.4 per cent - of expats also smoked.
“Smoking is a risk factor for most of the diseases,” said Dr Francy Pulikkan, an internist at Burjeel Hospital. “Most people don’t understand that smoking is a cause for heart attacks among the young. Many people who have heart attacks at a young age are smokers. Everyone knows that smoking also causes lung cancer. As people continue to smoke, they develop COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), and this is a really bad disease because, ultimately, the patient is unable to walk and will have difficulty breathing.
“They will be confined to bed,” he added. “All forms of cancer, such as stomach cancer and intestinal cancer, their propensity increases with smoking. Smokers are also very prone to developing spinal disc diseases and injuries. The risk of stroke is increased in smoking, and even if none of these serious things happen, smokers are invariably prone to infections, because smoking reduces the immunity and causes more respiratory diseases. “This won’t just affect them, but their family members, as well, because others are also inhaling the same smoke,” added Pulikkan. “Alcohol primarily harms the liver, and once the liver is harmed, you cannot get it back. Other things include decreased memory, lack of social functioning, early dementia, and alcohol dependence.”
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