Behaviours and attitudes related to smoking among a Bedouin population in rural Jordan

ABSTRACT There is limited research about tobacco-related behaviours and attitudes among rural populations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The aim of this study was to determine smoking behaviours and attitudes among the nomadic Bedouin in rural southern Jordan. Patients visiting a village clinic over 2 months of 2009 were invited by the attending physician to participate in the survey, which was adapted from the California Tobacco Survey. The smoking prevalence among the 92 participants was 46.7%. Most smokers were men who smoked heavily (> 1 pack/day) (90.7%). There was general low self-efficacy to quit among smokers, yet 81.4% acknowledged that smoking was harming their health. Although 79.1% of smokers and 89.1% of non-smokers believed second-hand smoke was harmful to non-smokers, most of them had no restrictions on smoking for residents and guests (66.3%) and most had children at home (73.9%). These data demonstrate contradictions between attitudes and behaviours about smoking of this rural population.