Objective   To compare differences in prevalence of smoking and nicotine dependence between Jingpo and Han residents in rural areas of Yunnan province.

  Methods   Probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling method was used to select representative samples of Jingpo and Han residents aged≥35 years and residing in two towns mainly inhabited by Jingpo and Han population in Mangshi municipality of Dehong prefecture and Yiliang county of Kunming municipality, Yunnan province. A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted among 2 816 participants between 2015 and 2017.

  Results   The overall prevalence rate of current smoking and nicotine dependence were 47.7% and 18.1% for the 1 367 Jingpo participants and 30.6% and 14.6% for the 1 449 Han participants, with significant differences in the rates between Jingpo and Han participants (both P<0.01). The prevalence rates of current smoking and nicotine addiction were higher among the males than among the females in both Jingpo and Han participants (P<0.01) and the prevalence rate of current smoking was significantly higher for the Jingpo than for the Han among the female participants (23.2% vs. 1.1%, P < 0.01). Filtered cigarette was a main type of tobacco consumed by 60.8% and 70.5% of Jingpo and Han smokers; 27.9% and 13.3% of the Jingpo smokers reported the consumption of chewing tobacco and self-rolled cigarette; while, 17.5% and 17.5% of the Han smokers reported the consumption of non-filtered cigarettes and hookah. For all the smokers the majority had their smoking attempts and regular smoking at the ages of 12 – 20 years and the Jingpo smokers begun to smoke at early ages than the Han smokers (P < 0.05).

  Conclusion   There are differences in the prevalence rate of smoking and nicotine dependence between Jingpo and Han residents in Yunnan province. Future intervention measures concerning smoking control and prevention should be implemented based on the characteristics of various ethnic populations.