40% of Pinoys drink, 15% smoke – DOH survey

MANILA, Philippines — Around 40.1 percent of Filipino adults drink alcohol while 15.5 percent are tobacco smokers, according to a mobile phone survey conducted by the Department of Health (DOH).

A total of 3,087 adults took part in the survey, done in January.

The survey focused on five associated non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors: tobacco use, alcohol use, diet, diabetes and hypertension.

The respondents subscribed to the country’s three leading mobile phone networks and were selected via random digit-dialing to complete the survey using SMS or mobile web mode.

“Results of the study will provide the DOH supplementary national data in addressing NCDs in the country even as we make health services more available and responsive to more people and move towards Universal Health Care,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said yesterday.

The survey showed that overall, 15.5 percent of Filipino adults are tobacco smokers, with 22.6 percent of men and 8.5 percent of women smoking tobacco.

The DOH noted that approximately13.4 percent of men smoked tobacco on a daily basis compared to 4.4 percent of women.

The DOH also reported 6.2 percent of men use smokeless tobacco compared to 1.6 percent of women.

The DOH noted that alcohol consumption was “high,” with four in 10 Filipinos reporting that they drank alcohol in the 30 days prior to the survey.

The DOH added that alcohol use was higher in men at 51.4 percent compared to 28.9 percent of women.

One in three Filipinos or 33.1 percent – 43. 2 percent of men and 22.9 percent of women – reported having six or more drinks in a single occasion.