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Tob Control 2007;16:378-383 doi:10.1136/tc.2007.020651
  • Research paper

Exposure to domestic violence associated with adult smoking in India: a population based study

  1. Leland K Ackerson,
  2. Ichiro Kawachi,
  3. Elizabeth M Barbeau,
  4. S V Subramanian
  1. Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
  1. S V Subramanian, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, KRESGE 7th floor, Boston, MA 02115-6096, USA; svsubram{at}hsph.harvard.edu
  • Received 15 February 2007
  • Accepted 6 July 2007

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relation between domestic violence and tobacco use among adults in India.

Design: Multilevel cross sectional analyses of a nationally representative population based sample from the 1998–9 Indian national family health survey.

Participants: 278 977 individuals aged 15 or older; and 89 092 ever married women aged 15–49.

Main outcome: Dichotomous variables for smoking and chewing tobacco.

Results: Women who reported being abused more than one year ago and those who reported being abused in the past year were more likely to smoke and chew tobacco than women who have never experienced domestic violence. Compared to individuals who lived in homes where no abuse was reported, those who lived in homes where a woman reported experiencing domestic violence were more likely to smoke and chew tobacco.

Conclusion: Domestic violence is associated with higher odds of smoking and chewing tobacco in India. Efforts to control tobacco use need to consider the larger psychosocial circumstances within which individuals who practise such harmful health behaviours reside.

Footnotes

  • Funding: No direct financial support was available for this study.

  • Competing interests: SVS as the corresponding author has had full access to all data in the study and has final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. All of the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding this manuscript.

  • Contributors: SVS conceived the study, designed the analysis, and contributed to the interpretation of the results and writing of the manuscript. LA led the analysis, interpretation, and writing of the manuscript. IK, and EB contributed to the interpretation of the results. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

  • Abbreviations:
    DV
    domestic violence
    NFHS
    National Family Health Survey

Responses to this article

  • Corrections
    • Leland K. Ackerson,
    • S. V. Subramanian
    Tob Control published online January 17, 2008
  • Alcohol abuse - a major cause of DV is missing.
    • Dr. Urmila Jagadeesan Nair
    Tob Control published online December 21, 2007

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