Smoking and cessation-related attitudes among men who have sex with men in the country of Georgia

ABSTRACT

Among men who have sex with men (MSM) in low- or middle-income countries, smoking and related factors have been understudied. We examined correlates of smoking status, level, and importance and confidence regarding quitting among 608 MSM in the country of Georgia recruited in June-September, 2016 (493 without HIV via peer referral in 3 Georgian cities; 115 with HIV via the National AIDS Center). Median age was 26 years, 78.6% reported current (past 30-day) alcohol use, and 22.4% reported past-year illicit drug use. Overall, 73.8% reported current smoking; of these, 87.1% smoked daily, mean cigarettes per day (cpd) was 19.8, 64.6% smoked ≤30 min of waking, and mean quitting importance and confidence were 6.8 and 6.4 (0 = not at all to 10 = extremely), respectively. Multivariable analyses indicated that current smoking correlated with past-month alcohol and past-year illicit drug use (p’s < .001). Among smokers, cpd correlated with being older and smoking within 30 min of waking; greater quitting importance (≥7) correlated with higher education and no illicit substance use; and greater quitting confidence (≥7) was associated with fewer cpd, smoking ≤30 min of waking, and regional versus capital city residence. Given these findings, addressing tobacco and other substance use among MSM in Georgia is critical.

KEYWORDS:

• Comorbid conditions
• tobacco use
• HIV
• health disparities
• sexual minorities
• low- and middle-income countries
• global health

Acknowledgements

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Infectious Diseases, AIDS and Clinical Immunology Research Center (OHRP #: IRB00006106).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The Georgian MSM Cohort Study was supported by International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) [grant number G-2216]. Dr Berg is supported by the National Cancer Institute [R01CA215155-01A1; PI: Berg; R01CA179422-01; PI: Berg; R01CA239178-01A1; MPIs: Berg, Levine; PI: Curran], the US Fogarty International Center/National Cancer Institute [1R01TW010664-01; MPIs: Berg, Kegler], and Fogarty/NIEHS [D43ES030927-01; MPIs: Berg, Marsit, Sturua].