Analysis of Tobacco Smoking Patterns in Relation to Age and Employment Status: A Case Study of Kirinyaga Central Constituency

Tobacco is dried leaves of the plant Nicotina tabacum. It contains the drug nicotine for the effects of which it’s smoked, chewed or inhaled as powder, smoking being the most common method of consuming tobacco. Tobacco smoking originated among Native Americans in Eastern North America where tobacco is native. Tobacco smoking may be influenced by various factors which may include: individual level factors such as (age, gender, and social-class). A country’s national economic development or its implementation on tobacco control policies may adhere to tobacco smoking. The general objective of this study was to examine if there exist a relationship between smoking, age and employment status. This study took into account the following variables; tobacco smoking as the dependent variable, age and employment status as the independent variable. The scope of the study was Kirinyaga Central Constituency, samples taken from its four wards. Stratified sampling was used, the target sample was 100. The study had a response rate of 97%. The main instrument of data collection was questionnaires; the data gathered was both qualitative and quantitative. Data was keyed in using epi-data software and analysed using SPSS. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis. The study also consisted of 3 hypotheses testing which were validated using Chi-Square tests of independence. The results revealed that employment status influences tobacco smoking from the multiple logistic regression analysis. The conclusion from this study was that there exists a relationship between employment status and tobacco smoking in Kirinyaga Central Constituency.