The unhealthy habit of smoking is on the rise in Qatar, as indicated by the results of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), announced last week. Covering 8,571 households with 8,398 completed responses (98.5%), the exercise has revealed that 12.1% of adults (51,000) smoke tobacco.
Equally alarming is the revelation from the latest Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) that the number of smokers in the 13-15 age group in Qatar has gone up from 6.5% to 9.8%, marking an increase of 3.3% between 2007 and 2013.
It should also be noted that the GATS (a global standard for systematically monitoring adult tobacco use, both smoking and smokeless, and tracking key tobacco control indications) conducted in Qatar did not cover the bachelor population, among whom also smoking is highly prevalent, according to earlier studies.
According to the survey, among households, 20.2% of men and 3.1% of women currently smoke tobacco in Qatar. Among Qataris, 21.3% of men and 0.65% of women smoke tobacco while 19.6% men and 4.6% women among non-Qataris smoke tobacco. This accounts for 16,000 Qataris and 35,000 non-Qataris.
Similarly, 4.9% of men and 1.6% of women currently smoke shisha in the country. Among Qataris, the percentage of adults smoking shisha is 5.3% for men and 0.4% for women while among non-Qataris, 4.8% of men and 2.4% of women smoke shisha.
A total of 38.2% of smokers - 35.3% of Qataris and 39.4% of non-Qataris - have made an attempt to quit smoking during the past 12 months in the country. The survey reveals that 12% of adults in the country are victims of secondhand smoking. It suggests that 8.3% of Qataris and 13.8% of non-Qataris who worked indoors were exposed to tobacco smoke at their workplaces. Similarly, 16.8% of adults were exposed to tobacco smoke at home while 25.9% adults were exposed to tobacco smoke while visiting restaurants.
According to the GYTS, between 2007 and 2013, the percentage of smokers among boys has gone up from 13.4% to 14.9%, while the figure has more than doubled among the girls, from 2.3% in 2007 to 4.7 in 2013.
The GYTS survey in Qatar was conducted in 2013 by the Supreme Council of Health and Supreme Education Council. A total of 2,109 students of grades 7-9 took part in the survey, of which 1,716 were aged 13-15. The overall response rate of students surveyed was 89.3%.
According to the survey, 15.7% of the students aged 13-15 used some tobacco products, out of which boys accounted for 22.8% and girls 8.8%. The survey revealed that 18.4% boys and 6.2% girls smoke tobacco while 9.4% boys and 3.2% of girls use smokeless tobacco.
The survey also found that 24.2% of students were exposed to tobacco smoking at home while 47.9% students were exposed to tobacco smoke inside enclosed places.
The findings from both the surveys are alarming enough to warrant urgent remedial action by the authorities concerned.
