Submission ID 118569
| Issue/Objective | Tobacco use is a leading cause of preventable death, with clear differences in smoking rates and intensity between men and women. However, the factors shaping these patterns remain underexplored. Most studies focus on single-country contexts and do not examine how gender interacts with social and economic factors across regions. This review addresses that gap, offering insights to support more equitable and context-specific tobacco control in a rapidly changing global health landscape. |
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| Methodology/Approach | This scoping review aims to map the factors influencing gendered smoking behaviors across diverse social, economic, and cultural contexts. Searches were conducted in PubMed and Scopus to capture a comprehensive range of sources and multidisciplinary literature. |
| Results | Data was found for 77 countries, representing approximately 44% of the 176 countries recognized by the World Bank. Factors such as education, occupation and wealth were associated with differences in smoking behavior among men and women globally. For example, in some regions lower education levels were associated with higher smoking prevalence, particularly among men (e.g., European and Central Asia). However, in other regions, women with higher education levels had higher smoking prevalence (e.g., Middle East and North Africa). Higher education typically leads to higher-paying occupations, where workplace policies and social norms often discourage smoking. In contrast, lower educational attainment is associated with lower-paying occupations, where smoking behaviors may be more prevalent and culturally accepted. In some contexts, the inverse was found to be true for women, where those with higher education had higher smoking rates, possibly because of increased social pressures or lifestyle factors associated with their occupation. Marriage and religion generally reduce smoking for both genders, though country-level differences suggest cultural roles shape these effects. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | The results show global gender differences in smoking, but the underlying contributors to these differences vary depending on geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts. This variability emphasizes the need to examine gendered patterns through a multifaceted lens, considering how factors like income, education, and employment interact. This review provides guidance for researchers to move beyond analyzing factors in isolation and explore how they interact in multifaceted ways across regions to better inform global tobacco control efforts. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Jaskeerat Singh Global Strategy Lab, York University Jaskeerat Singh Global Strategy Lab, York University Lathika Laguwaran Global Strategy Lab, York University Mathieu Poirier Global Strategy Lab, York University |
