GATS-SA AND SOUTH AFRICAN WOMEN, EIGHT KEY FACTS
By Xolisile Dlou
Although South African women are less likely than men to smoke, they frequently smoke more cigarettes per day than men, according to a 2013 Health-E News report. Dr. Catherine Egbe felt it was important to discuss eight recent GATS-SA statistics on women and smoking during the hybrid webinar because it is women’s month. These facts are as follows.
- Less women smoke tobacco than men
- The average age of smoking initiation for women is about 1 year later than men
- More women use smokeless tobacco products than men (F=7.2% VS M=1.1%)
- 7% of women use e-cigarettes
- While more men smoke cigarettes, more women are addicted to nicotine using the TTFC criterion (F=37.4% VS M=32.5%)
- Among women who use tobacco or nicotine products, more women use SLT only (F=35 VS M=1%), and more women are dual users of smoked and SLT (F=4.5% VS M=1.4%)
- More women who are smokers tried to give up within the last one month during the survey (F=22.4% VS M=6.7%)
- More female smokers have successfully quit than men (F=15.4% VS M=9.2%)
