The Social Patterning of Tobacco Use Among Women in Jordan: The Protective Effect of Education on Cigarette Smoking and the Deleterious Effect of Wealth on Cigarette and Waterpipe Smoking

Abstract

Among Jordanian women, increasing education is protective against cigarette smoking. Household wealth, on the other hand, exerts a deleterious effect on both forms of tobacco consumption, particularly WTS. This pattern shows that Jordan has not fully undergone the socioeconomic crossover in tobacco prevalence which characterizes high-income countries. Future control policies should aim to decrease prevalence but also preempt increasing social inequalities in tobacco use.