Pattern of Tobacco Consumption among TB Patients in a Tuberculosis Referral Center

Tuberculosis (TB) is among the major causes of illness and death worldwide, especially in Asia and Africa. On the other hand, tobacco use is the most important preventable and the second biggest cause of death throughout the world. Smoking is associated with recurrent tuberculosis and its related mortality. Also, it could affect clinical manifestations, bacteriological conversion and outcome of treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the pattern of tobacco smoking, history of previous quit attempts, and attitude towards quitting in tuberculosis patients. It was a cross-sectional study done amongst pulmonary TB patients presented to Masih Daneshvari Hospital. Two hundred patients entered the study as "First Come First Serve". Self-reported questionnaires were designed according to the standard questionnaires of smoking pattern. A total of 93.5% were males. The mean age was 39.8±1.73 yrs. Thirty-four percent of them were current smokers at the time of interview, 7.5% were occasional smokers and 28% of smoker patients had a history of at least one quit attempt. Considering the prevalence of smoking in TB patients, evaluation of tobacco smoking status in such patients and motivating them to quit smoking could be considered as important steps in their treatment process.