Prevalence of tobacco consumption by gender

In the DRC, men smoke much more than women. In 2014, the prevalence of consumption of any type of tobacco was 26.5% among men and 4.1% among women. There are also big differences in the products consumed by the two genders.

Ninety-six percent (96%) of women said they did not use tobacco products. The 4% of women who did use products in 2014 indicated that they hardly ever used cigarettes. The product most consumed among women was snuff (3%), followed by hand-rolled tobacco (0.6%).

Among men, cigarettes were the most widely consumed product in 2014 (18.9%), followed by snuff (7.8%) and hand-rolled tobacco (4.4%). Research led by WHO also found significant differences globally in tobacco consumption by gender, with 36.7% among men and 7.8% among women.

These results are similar to those obtained in other Sub-Saharan African countries. In Nigeria, for example, 7.3% of men and 0.4% of women use tobacco products. In South Africa, the figures are 41.7% and 17.9% respectively.

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Smoking rates in the DRC increase with age. Adolescents and young adults are the age group with the lowest smoking prevalence, while the highest rate is found among older Congolese. In 2014, tobacco consumption was highest among men aged 45 to 49, at 37.7%, and among women aged 40 to 44, at 10.7%.

Cigarettes were the most widely consumed product across all age groups in the DRC, except among the youngest age group (15-19). The highest prevalence (11.1%) of cigarette consumption was found among those aged 45 to 49, followed by those aged 40 to 44 with 10.2%. In the 15-19 age group, snuff was the most widely consumed product  (2.3%), followed by cigarettes at (1.3%). However, additional research is needed to examine the use of novel tobacco products and reach adolescents younger than 15 years of age.

This relatively low prevalence among young people could be attributed to the ban on tobacco advertising in educational environments (households and schools) and the increase in tobacco taxes, as well as to young people’s low purchasing power. Other research shows that populations are likely to be introduced to smoking in adolescence through advertising, leading to sustained consumption throughout their lives.

  The high prevalence among older people may be attributed to higher purchasing power and exposure to tobacco advertising in their youth . Studies have shown that older people are not often targeted by cessation services.

These results are similar to those obtained in South Africa, where smoking rates were highest among adults aged over 60, and in Gambia, where prevalence is highest among adults aged 40-49.

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Congolese with a low socio-economic level consume more tobacco than those with a higher socio-economic level.

Despite the financial cost, it’s the poorest people who smoke the most cigarettes in the DRC. In 2014, the poorest Congolese smoked the most cigarettes with 28.7%, followed by the poor with 25%, the middle class with 19.9% and the rich and richer with 15.7% and 10.5% respectively.

In several African countries, a correlation has been noted between economic conditions and smoking prevalence. The poorer the individual, the higher the level of tobacco consumption.

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