Poor People Consume More Tobacco

Following a new scientific study, German researchers at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), in Berlin, report a new correlation between the wealth status of a person and the amount of cigarettes he or she consumes. Social status was also found to be a clear indicator of how much tobacco a person smoked each day, the same paper discovered. Other health-related risk factors were also taken into account, including obesity, physical inactivity and long-term smoking. Details of the work appear in the latest issue of the scientific journal Deutsches Arzteblatt International, AlphaGalileo reports.

What the research team tried to do was basically determine the extent of the correlations that existed between these risk factors and social status. The group determined that, “Persons of low social status should be an important target group for preventing and health-promoting measures, both in health policy and medical practice.” It went on to say that, “In Germany, it was demonstrated empirically as early as the 1980s that persons of low social status smoke more commonly, have lower levels of physical and sporting activity, and are more often overweight or obese.”

The new investigation relied on data collected during the 2003 Telephone Health Survey, which was conducted on a representative population sample of about 8,318 individuals aged 18 or more. All of the respondents were asked questions about their smoking status, degree of physical activity, height, and weight, among other such risk factors. By analyzing the participants' statements on education, occupation, and net household income, the researchers were also able to establish the social status of each individual. They then proceeded to correlate the two sets of data, in an attempt to discover if any statistical connections existed.

They found that men of low social status were more likely to smoke, to be physically inactive, and also obese than men with higher social statuses. “For women, social status had just as large an effect on smoking and physical activity as it had in men, while its effect on obesity was even greater than in men,” the RKI researchers wrote in the journal entry. “As far as doctors are concerned, the findings regarding smoking, physical inactivity, and obesity strongly suggest that they should address these risk factors directly and advise their patients of the potential consequences for their health,” the team concluded.