Tobacco use in Lao People’s Democratic Republic: Results from the 2015 National Adult Tobacco Survey

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco use is a burden for Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). No published report has examined determinants of various tobacco uses to inform appropriate policies and prevention strategies. This paper reports tobacco uses by sociodemographic characteristics using data from the most recent Lao National Adult Tobacco Survey (NATS) in 2015. METHODS: The NATS included a nationally representative sample of 7562 people aged ≥15 years, recruited through a stratified 2-stage cluster sampling approach in 18 provinces. All analyses were weighted. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate unadjusted and adjusted associations between variables of interest. RESULTS: The NATS results showed that 32.4% of Lao people aged ≥15 years were current tobacco users (men: 51.2%, women: 15.4%). Cigarette smoking accounted for approximately 95% of all tobacco use in men, while tobacco chewing accounted for 60% of tobacco use in women. Current tobacco use was strongly associated with older ages and lower education levels (p<0.001). There were interactions between sex, education level, and income associated with tobacco use; specifically, women were more likely to have a lower education level and lower income than men, and these women were more likely to use tobacco. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco use prevalence in Lao PDR was among the highest in the region. There were variations in types and prevalence of tobacco use across sociodemographic subpopulations. The Lao government should continue current national tobacco control efforts and implement additional proven strategies to reduce tobacco use.