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Smoking and obesity in Belarus
– Reported, January 26, 2013
Obesity is shown to be one of the main factors worsening the self-perceived health status of women. Belarus is lagging behind Europe and the United States in policies aimed at the decrease of tobacco control. During the stressful experience of transition out of communism, many postSoviet countries, including Belarus experienced an increase in smoking prevalence . Unlike its neighbors, Belarus did not open up the tobacco market for foreign direct investment and government remains in full control of the industry, owning all cigarette companies and being the only importer of cigarettes.
Age was found to be the main determinant of smoking, with young people being more likely to smoke. This finding suggests that without drastic anti-smoking measures, smoking prevalence is not going to decrease anytime soon. For women, the important determinants of
smoking also include being divorced and residing in urban areas.
In 2011, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus in cooperation with World Health Organization approved an Anti-Tobacco Plan for 2011-2015, which includes a variety of anti-tobacco actions and measures. In particular, the government plans the gradual increase in tobacco taxes; introduction of smoking-free zones and restriction of smoking in public places; and massive informational campaign about the dangers of smoking and ways to quit. These measures can lead to a significant decrease in smoking prevalence.
However, an unintended consequence of these policies might be an increase in overweight and obesity rates. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the significance of this possible effect by examining the relationship between tobacco consumption and body weight among Belarusian adults.
Furthermore, because Belarus began implementing an anti-tobacco campaign, it is important to understand whether decrease in smoking may lead to significant increase in obesity rates.
The current high prevalence of smoking in Belarus and the high body weight present major public health concerns. Our results suggest that the prevalence of overweight and obesity might be exacerbated by the reduction in smoking rate. From a policy perspective, an increase in obesity rates among the general population may be a reasonable concern for policy instruments targeted at reducing the overall smoking rates. However, the potentially modest weight gain is likely to be more than offset by the general health improvements associated with a decline in smoking rates.
CREDITS:
Aliaksandr Amialchuk, Kateryna Bornukova, Mir M. Ali
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