Passive Smoking in China

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BIOMEDICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 20, 420-425 (2007) Passive Smoking in China: Contributing Factors and Areas for Future Interventions1 SHAO-JUN MA*, JUN-FANG WANG*, CUI-ZHU MEI+, XUE-FANG XU+, *,#,2 AND GONG-HUAN YANG * Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China; +School of Public Health, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China; #Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China Objective To reduce tobacco consumption and exposure to passive smoking in China. Methods Discussion consisting of 80 focus groups and 35 interviews were held in three rural intervention counties of Jiangxi, Henan, and Sichuan Provinces. Participants came from hospitals, schools, rural areas, and urban areas. Results Tobacco use and exposure to passive smoking were widely prevalent in the investigated schools, hospitals, county towns, and rural areas. Knowledge of the risks for passive smoking on health is lacking, especially in rural areas. Barriers to the control of tobacco use in public places include reluctance of administrators to implement tobacco control policies, lack of consistent policies, difficulties with regulations and enforcement, and reluctance of non-smokers to exercise their right to clean air. Conclusion To curb the current tobacco epidemic in China, tobacco control efforts must focus on reducing exposure to passive smoking. A strategy should be formulated to reduce the factors that contribute to tobacco use and exposure to passive smoking. Key words: Qualitative study; Passive smoking; China INTRODUCTION China is the largest tobacco consumer, accounting for more than one-fourth of the world tobacco consumption annually and has the largest smoking population at approximately 350 million smokers[1]. Passive

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