[Use of Roll Your Own Tobacco in the Basque Country: magnitude, socio-economic inequalities and evolution in the period 2013-2018].

Abstract

Objective: Despite the global reduction in smoking, the consumption of roll-your-own tobacco has increased in recent years in many countries, which may be slowing down the downward trend in smoking. The aim of this paper was to analyse the evolution of the number of people who use roll-your-own tobacco and tobacco of any type between 2013 and 2018 in the Basque Country and measure whether there were socioeconomic inequalities in its consumption.

Methods: We carried out an observational and cross-sectional study of a representative sample of the population living in the Basque Country aged 16 to 59 years (n₂₀₁₃=6929 y n₂₀₁₈=7961) from the Basque Health Survey (2013 and 2018) and the Basque Addictions Survey (2018). We calculated prevalences of regular tobacco smoking in general and of roll-your-own cigarettes according to different socioeconomic variables for the years 2013 and 2018, as well as prevalence ratios for the estimation of change between these years and according to the above variables through robust Poisson regression models. We stratified analyses by sex and two age groups.

Results: Overall smoking prevalence decreased between 2013 (men=27.7% and women=24.1%) and 2018 but remained the same for those who used roll-your-own tobacco (in 2013, men=5.1% and women=3.2%; in 2018=5.4% and 3.5%, respectively). In contrast to tobacco in general, which showed a clear socio-economic gradient, roll-your-own tobacco use was more prevalent among young people (in 2018, men=6.4% and women=4.1%), a group where the pattern by socio-economic status was less evident.

Conclusions: Considering the persistence of roll-your-own tobacco consumption, we also should direct tobacco control towards this kind of product, and its use should be monitored and supervised, especially among young people.