Relation between Smoking Habits and Self-Rated Health of Older Persons in the Philippines: Evidence-Based Tobacco Policy Advocacy

Tobacco is one of the risk factors for non-communicable disease. The Philippines’s smoking rate of aged 15 years and older is 23.8%, which is high in Asian countries. This study aimed to investigate whether older persons’ smoking habits are associated with lower self-rated health (SRH) and advocate for policy amendment in the Philippines. This research conducted a cross-sectional study on 300 eligible Filipinos aged 60 and over living in Metro Manila, Quezon City, from November 2012 to March 2013. The number of effective answers was 300. Demographic and SRH data were collected. Binary regression analyses and logistic regression models were used for this analysis after testing for “multicollinearity”. In total, 40.33% of older persons perceived higher self-rated health; 14.00% of them had a smoking habit, and 24.67% of them drank alcohol. A multivariable analysis showed that the factors associated with better SRH among older persons in this study were more total education years, fewer total number of symptoms, longer sleep hours, more cigarettes per day, more alcohol consumption per day, having friends and having medical insurance. In agreement with previous studies, education, symptoms, sleep, alcohol, social networks, and insurance were associated with SRH. Regarding the relation between tobacco and SRH, there were two different outcomes. This research showed a positive association between tobacco and SRH. Not having universal coverage of medical insurance to address health concerns and a social custom of selling tobacco were associated with a positive relation between tobacco and SRH. Amendment of tobacco policies to expand health insurance and to limit selling tobacco in the street might help modify the SRH of older persons in the Philippines.