Journal of Nepal Medical Association · Published 2026-07-29 · DOI 10.31729/jnma.v64i300.9621
Jaya Kumar Gurung, Pranil Man Singh Pradhan, Parashar Khadka, Anjana Lamichhane, Gambhir Shrestha, Pragyan Ghale
Introduction: Tobacco use remains an important public health concern in Nepal. This analytical cross-sectional study estimated current tobacco-use prevalence, examined socio-demographic and socio-economic factors associated with current use, and described tobacco-control policy perceptions. Methods: We surveyed 1,587 respondents aged 15-69 years across seven provinces using multistage sampling. Primary analyses were unweighted because respondent-level design weights were unavailable; confidence intervals and regression inference accounted for ecological-region stratification and district-level clustering. Census-calibrated estimates were examined as sensitivity analyses. Results: Overall, 541 respondents were current tobacco users (34.09%; design-adjusted 95% CI: 29.5%-38.7%). The prevalence was 455 (55.76%) among males and 86 (11.15%) among females. Among current users, 170 (31.42%) used smoked tobacco only, 300 (55.45%) smokeless tobacco only, and 71 (13.12%) both. In the adjusted model, current tobacco use was associated with male sex (aOR 12.75, 95% CI: 8.18–19.87), age 40–54 years (aOR 2.32, 95% CI: 1.20–4.48), age 55–69 years (aOR 3.29, 95% CI: 1.80–6.03), illiteracy (aOR 1.87, 95% CI: 1.20–2.92), non-paid work (aOR 2.28, 95% CI: 1.17–4.46), and the upper-lower socio-economic group (aOR 1.71, 95% CI: 1.26–2.34). A total of 1196 (75.36%) respondents perceived smoke-free policy enforcement to be poor. Conclusions: Current tobacco use remains common in Nepal and varies markedly by sex, age, education, occupation, and socio-economic status. Comprehensive control of smoked and smokeless products, stronger policy implementation, and targeted prevention and cessation services are needed.
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Gurung, J., Pradhan, P., Khadka, P., et al. (2026). Current Tobacco-use Prevalence, Socio-economic Correlates, and Policy Perceptions in Nepal: An Analytical Cross-sectional Survey. Journal of Nepal Medical Association. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.v64i300.9621