Introduction: Cigarette smoking is one of the most well-known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, cancers and pulmonary diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cigarette smoking and its related factors in central parts of Iran and compare the results with other Asian countries.

Materials and Methods: The prevalence and related factors of cigarette smoking in central parts of Iran were determined using a population-based cohort study in Iran. Also, the prevalence of cigarette smoking was extracted for all Asian countries and compared with the prevalence of smoking in Iran.

Results: The overall prevalence of cigarette smoking in central parts of Iran was equal to 20.75% (38.4% in men and 3.1% in women). The odds ratio of cigarette smoking was 19.59 (95% Confidence interval (CI) = 12.97-30.60) in men compared to women, 2.07 (95% CI = 1.26-3.49) in the 45-54 age group, 1.79 (95% CI =1.09- 3.03) in the 55-64 age group, and 1.61 (95% CI= 0.93-2.84) in the 65-74 age group compared to the 75-years-and-older age group. In 2012, in Asian countries, the highest prevalence of cigarette smoking was observed in Russia (32.7%), but the lowest prevalence was in Oman (8.5%). It seems that the prevalence of cigarette smoking was medium in Iranian population.

Conclusions: The higher prevalence of cigarette smoking was observed in people in the 45-54 age group, people with a good economic status, married people, unemployed people, those with low BMI, people who are very dissatisfied with their health status, those with secondary school education levels, and people who had the higher consumption of tea and coffee. Compared to other Asian countries, the prevalence of cigarette smoking was medium in Iran.