Background: The prevalence of smoking among young women is of particular concern in most countries as it does not decline as in men. We studied smoking behaviour in Greenlandic and Danish women over a 2 year period to provide information on the social and behavioural determinants of smoking in women.
Methods: In 1986, samples of 800 women aged 20-39 years were drawn at random from Nuuk/Godthåb (Greenland) and Nykøbing Falster (Denmark). A total of 586 and 661 women were interviewed in Greenland and Denmark, respectively. In 1988, new random samples of 150 women were drawn from the same areas. Totally, 129 Greenlandic and 126 Danish women were included in this study. In 1987, a sample of 732 women aged 20-49 years from Copenhagen was randomly drawn from the computerized Central Population Register. Of these, 623 women completed a questionnaire.
Results: Smoking behaviour was almost the same among women in Nykøbing Falster and Copenhagen (54% smoked) while a significantly higher percentage of smokers was observed among women in Greenland (88% smoked). Heavy smoking was most prevalent among Danish women and associated with early debut of smoking. Among Danish women, smoking was associated with use of oral contraceptives, early age at first intercourse, and multiple sexual partners. In Greenland, smoking was associated with early sexual debut and multiple sexual partners. In an extended analysis on a subgroup of Danish women, smoking was also associated with low education and infrequent intake of vegetables. The study showed no development in smoking behaviour in any age group over the two year period between the two studies, neither in Nykøbing Falster nor in Nuuk.
Conclusion: The high prevalence of moderate smoking among women in Greenland suggests that broad anti-smoking initiatives are urgently needed. The high prevalence of heavy smoking and a social gradient among Danish women may indicate that a strategy focusing on restrictions of smoking may be more relevant than merely continuing a pure anti-smoking information strategy.