Investigation on the status of smoking and passive smoking and the attitude towards tobacco control among urban residents in Guangdong Province

Objective To know about the status of smoking and passive smoking among urban residents,and to understand their attitude towards tobacco,to provide basis for developing effective tobacco control policies.Methods By random accidental sampling,the rural residents aged above 18 years were selected in 4 kinds of public places,including hospitals,shopping centers,transportation waiting rooms and government buildings.The residents were investigated by passive smoking questionnaire for adults from National Smoking Control Office,Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Results Total 599 urban residents were investigated,in which 190 were smoker,the smoking rate of the adult residents was 31.7%,and 56.6% for males and 3.2% for females respectively.Those aged 30~ had the highest smoking rate which was 42.6%.There was no significant difference in smoking rates among the population with different education levels(P0.05).In 392 non-smokers,162 was suffered passive smoking.The rate of passive smoking was 41.3%,and 37.6% for males and 43.1% for females.According to the participants report,32.2% of the families,12.3% of the indoor entertainment places and 40.9% of the indoor work places were partial or complete smoking free.The non-smokers had higher awareness of smoking harem than the smokers,and they were more supportive to smoking banning in public places.Conclusion The rates of smoking and passive smoking among urban residents were high in Guangdong Province.Most residents were supportive to smoking banning in public places.The smokers were short of smoking harm knowledge.Health education should be strengthened,and the smoking ban in public places should be developed.