High Smoking-Level Is Registered Among HIV-positive Men and Women From Low- and Middle Income Countries

To see how popular smoking is in low- and middle income countries investigators had studied 28 countries of Africa, America and South-eastern Asia and the data  of smoking and non-smoking population collected for eleven years. Average of HIV-positive tobacco users counts about 25%, in India about 40%. The results of the investigation were published in the Lancet journal.

Investigators report that “Tobacco smoking was much more prevalent among men than women – an observation consistent with findings from elsewhere. Countries with a high prevalence of tobacco use among HIV-positive populations, as highlighted in our study, should prioritise the introduction of tobacco cessation in their HIV treatment plans,” conclude the authors. “Future research action to improve the health of [the HIV-positive] population could…include exploring effective and cost-effective tobacco cessation interventions for people living with HIV that are sustainable and scalable in low-resource settings.” - said the researchers, commenting the study.