Table 2.
Distribution of the elderly by selected smoking variables in three urban communities in Beirut
| Smoking variables | Total % | Hay el Sullum n (%) | Nabaa n (%) | Burj n (%) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cigarette smoking | |||||
| Current smoker | 28.2 | 20 (20.4) | 90 (25.1) | 104 (34.3) | 0.000 |
| Occasional smoker | 7.0 | 3 (3.1) | 46 (12.8) | 4 (4.3) | |
| Ex-smoker | 21.7 | 20 (20.4) | 67 (18.7) | 78 (25.7) | |
| Never smoked | 43.2 | 55 (56.1) | 156 (43.5) | 117 (38.6) | |
| Reason for quitting | |||||
| Health-related | 32.7 | 12 (63.2) | 29 (44.6) | 31 (43.7) | 0.295 |
| Non-health-related | 67.3 | 7 (36.8) | 36 (55.4) | 40 (56.3) | |
| Among ever smokers, mean ± SD | |||||
| Pack year | 52.2 ± 46.1 | 59.9 ± 48 | 51.2 ± 40.2 | 52.2 ± 50.3 | 0.564 |
| Year smoking | 40.1 ± 14.6 | 39.6 ± 14.2 | 42.7 ± 10.7 | 37.9 ± 14.6 | 0.010 |
| Age at starting | 21.9 ± 10.1 | 20.9 ± 9.8 | 20.0 ± 7.3 | 23.8 ± 11.9 | 0.002 |
| Age at stopping | 56.7 ± 13.5 | 56.6 ± 13.4 | 57.4 ± 10.9 | 56.1 ± 15.6 | 0.858 |
| Years since stopping | 13.0 ± 12.7 | 11.3 ± 13.4 | 12.5 ± 11.4 | 13.0 ± 13.6 | 0.861 |
| Narghile smoking* | |||||
| Current | 11.3 | 6 (6.1) | 60 (16.8) | 20 (6.6) | 0.149 |
| Ex-smoker | 4.9 | 5 (5.1) | 6 (1.7) | 26 (8.6) | |
| Never smoked | 83.8 | 88 (88.9) | 292 (81.6) | 257 (84.8) | |
| Reason for quitting | |||||
| Health-related | 21.6 | 2 (40.0) | 1 (16.7) | 5 (19.2) | N/A |
| Non-health-related | 78.4 | 3 (60.0) | 5 (83.3) | 21 (80.8) | |
| Among ever smokers | |||||
| Age at start, mean ± SD | 39.9 ± 17.2 | 41.1 ± 19.2 | 31.8 ± 13.3 | 42.3 ± 17.5 | 0.199 |
| Years since stopping, mean ± SD | 10.4 ± 10.4 | 3.0 ± 1.7 | 8.9 ± 10.6 | 12.1 ± 10.9 | 0.213 |
*
To test for significance differences among the three communities, current and ex-smokers were merged into ever smokers.
SD = standard deviation; N/A = not available.