Nicotine dependence and quitting stages of smokers in Nepal: A community based cross-sectional study

Nicotine dependence is an addiction to tobacco products caused by the chemical nicotine present in tobacco. 80% of premature deaths due to nicotine dependence come from low-and middle-income countries. Since most of the public health studies have focused solely on psychological and behavioral factors associated with tobacco smoking, this study aims to assess the nicotine dependence and stages of change of quitting smoking.

A community based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among 280 smokers aged 15-69 years in Bharatpur metropolitan, Nepal. A semi-structured and validated questionnaire was used during the face-to-face interviews. Nicotine dependence among participants was assessed using the six-item Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to assess the associations between variables at the significance level α = 0.05.

In the study population, the mean score of FTND was 5.15 ± 2.34. 33.9% participants had a high level of nicotine dependence and nearly half of the participants felt difficulty to refrain smoking even in No-smoking areas. Almost three out of ten respondents were prepared for smoking cessation. It was found that age group 20-39 years were more likely to have nicotine dependence (AOR 3.308, 95% CI = 1.039-10.534), those who initiated smoking before age of 15 were associated with a greater risk of nicotine dependence (AOR 3.68, 95% CI = 1.826-7.446), participants spending more on tobacco products (more than Rs 2400 monthly) were associated with an increased risk of nicotine dependence (AOR 4.47, 95% CI = 2.225-8.991), those who initiated smoking due to mental stress were more likely to have nicotine addiction (AOR 2.522, 95% CI = 1.004-6.028), and those who had no thought of quitting smoking were more associated with nicotine dependence (AOR 4.935, 95% CI = 1.458-16.699).

Our study showed that high level of nicotine dependence is a major public health problem in low-and middle-income countries like Nepal. It also highlights that effective smoking cessation programs should be developed considering the level of nicotine dependence with more focus on early interventions of its associated factors.