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Examining Trends of Cigarette Smoking Amongst Syrian Refugees During Their First Two Years in Canada

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Abstract

This brief report explored trends of cigarette smoking among Syrian newcomers in the first two years of resettlement in Canada. 1794 adult Syrian refugees were surveyed about their physical and mental health, and smoking behaviours. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and logistic regressions. Almost 27% of the sample reported cigarette smoking (50% light smokers and 50% moderate/heavy smokers). Light smokers increased and moderate/heavy smokers decreased in the number of cigarettes smoked from year 1 to year 2. Moderate/heavy smokers were more likely to be male and reported higher post-traumatic stress scores, while light smokers reported higher depression scores. Only 14.3% of smokers recalled receiving advice from health care providers in Canada regarding their smoking habits. Healthcare providers should provide tailored advice to everyone who is an active smoker with a specific emphasis on those who have concurrent health issues.

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Notes

  1. Only 74 (15%) out of 485 households who reported smoking had more than one smokers in their household.

  2. Due to small sample size we combined moderate and heavy smokers.

  3. Although the numbers were small, we ran a logistic regression examining differences between those who started (n = 70) or quit (n = 74) smoking using the following predictor variables: Age, gender, number of months in Canada, employment, education level, speak/Understand English, attendance of language classes, physical health, mental health, stress, depression and PTSD. Logistic regression results showed no significant differences (p > 0.05).

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Acknowledgements

The research team members include: Adnan Al Mhamied, Arman Hamidian, Anas Issa, Ben C. H. Kuo, Branka Agic, Farah Ahmad, Jennifer Hyndman, Jill Hanley, Joanna Anneke Rummens, Kashmala Qasim, Kathy Sherrell, Kwame McKenzie, Lana Saad, Lina Abdullah, Mahi Khalaf, Marcela Diaz, May Massijeh, Mona Awwad, Neil Arya, Nicole Ives, Oula Hajjar, Rabih (Fakhri) Jamil, Rana Mohammad, Riham Al-Saadi, Rosemary Georges, Susan McGrath, Yogendra Shakya and MHD Youssef.

Funding

This work was funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Grant Number [PJT- 148960].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Refugee Studies, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Anna Oda

  2. School of Nursing Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Carolyn Beukeboom

  3. Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Jonathan Bridekirk

  4. St. Michael’s Hospital, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 1W8, Canada

    Ahmed Bayoumi

  5. Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Michaela Hynie

Authors
  1. Anna Oda
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  2. Carolyn Beukeboom
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  3. Jonathan Bridekirk
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  4. Ahmed Bayoumi
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  5. Michaela Hynie
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Consortia

SyRIA.lth team

  • Adnan Al Mhamied
  • , Arman Hamidian
  • , Anas Issa
  • , Ben C. H. Kuo
  • , Branka Agic
  • , Farah Ahmad
  • , Jennifer Hyndman
  • , Jill Hanley
  • , Joanna Anneke Rummens
  • , Kashmala Qasim
  • , Kathy Sherrell
  • , Kwame McKenzie
  • , Lana Saad
  • , Lina Abdullah
  • , Mahi Khalaf
  • , Marcela Diaz
  • , May Massijeh
  • , Mona Awwad
  • , Neil Arya
  • , Nicole Ives
  • , Oula Hajjar
  • , Rabih Jamil
  • , Rana Mohammad
  • , Riham Al-Saadi
  • , Rosemary Georges
  • , Susan McGrath
  • , Yogendra Shakya
  •  & MHD Youssef

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Oda.

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Conflict of interest

No competing interests. No conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This study was reviewed and received ethics approval at each of the research sites affiliated with an academic institution. REB approval certificate numbers: (1) York University# e2016-369, (2) CAMH# 139/2016, (3) St. Michael’s Hospital# 18-348, (4) McGill University# 389-0217, (5) University of Windsor# 16-241.

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Oda, A., Beukeboom, C., Bridekirk, J. et al. Examining Trends of Cigarette Smoking Amongst Syrian Refugees During Their First Two Years in Canada. J Immigrant Minority Health 23, 640–645 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01153-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-021-01153-3

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