Smoking prevalence and associated factors among general population living in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia

Background: The present study investigated the smoking prevalence and associated factors among the general population living in the Makkah Region of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive research was conducted in 2023 at the Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. The data were analyzed on SPSS-20. Results: Of the 3034 participants, 719 (23.7%) were current smokers (8.7% of females and 40% of males); the most popular smoking method was cigarette smoking, which is practiced by 45% of smokers, followed by water pipe smoking (30%) and vaping (25%). The prevalence of overweight was higher among smokers compared to nonsmokers. The odds ratio for men was 8.461 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.484–11.419); for waist circumference, it was 0.996 (95% CI: 0.985–0.999); for those who live separately, it was 0.617 (95% CI: 0.418–0.912); for those with monthly incomes between SR 5000 and SR 10,000, it was 0.613 (95% CI: 0.432–0.870); for those who are divorced, it is 0.429 (95% CI: 0.215–0.855). Conclusions: Our findings revealed that smoking was 23.7%, with cigarette smoking being the most common. Several socioeconomic factors were associated with smoking. There is a need to educate the masses about the hazards of smoking to tackle this burning issue.