Prevalence and correlates of roll-your-own cigarette smoking among South African adults during 2010–2011 and 2017–2018

INTRODUCTION: The increasing use of roll-your own (RYO) cigarettes has been documented globally, but there are no recent data from South Africa, particularly among youths and low-income groups. We assessed changes in prevalence and correlates of RYO smoking among South African adults during 2010–2011 and 2017–2018, and explored expenditure differences between daily smokers of RYO and manufactured cigarettes. METHODS: Nationally representative data of South Africans aged ≥16 years used in this study were from the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) for 2010–2011 (n=6116), and 2017–2018 (n=5799). Current RYO cigarette use included daily and non-daily use. Annual expenditures were estimated based on typical usage patterns for daily users. Descriptive and multivariable analyses were performed using Stata Version 15 with the level of statistical significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The prevalence of ever RYO cigarette use increased from 6.5% (95% CI: 5.6–7.5) during 2010–2011, to 8.5% (95% CI: 7.0–10.0) during 2017–2018 (p=0.026). Current RYO cigarette use prevalence however remained largely unchanged when we compared 2010–2011 to 2017–2018 (5.2% vs 6.3%, p=0.544). During 2017–2018, current RYO cigarette use prevalence was highest among men (11.6%), those who self-identified as Coloreds (11.1%), people aged 25–34 years (7.8%), those with no schooling (7.5%), and those unemployed (9.8%). Annual expenditures associated with typical patterns of daily RYO cigarette smoking were substantially less than for smoking of manufactured cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of ever RYO cigarette use increased between 2010–2011 and 2017–2018. Current RYO cigarette use during 2017–2018 was more prevalent among Coloreds, Black Africans, youths, those with lower education, and the unemployed. This study’s findings highlight the need to harmonize taxation of cigarettes and RYO cigarettes, and to intensify implementation of evidence-based tobacco control and prevention interventions in South Africa.