Survey of degree of passive smoking exposure and related risk awareness in adults in China, 2013

Objective To understand the passive smoking exposure level and related risk awareness in adults in China in 2013. Methods A face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted in 179 570 adults selected through multistage cluster sampling from Chinese chronic disease and risk factors surveillance sample population (2013) in 302 surveillance sites. The effective sample size was 176 179 adults. After comprehensive weighting of the samples, the passive smoking exposure level and the awareness rate of related risks were analyzed. Results The passive smoking exposure rate was 52.8% (95%CI: 51.2%-54.4%) and the rate decreased with age (χ2=515.8, P<0.000 1). The exposure rate was highest in persons engaged in commercial services (61.6%, 95%CI: 58.6%-64.5%). The awareness rate of related risks was 67.9% (95%CI: 65.8%-69.9%). The awareness rate was higher in urban area (77.0%, 95%CI: 75.0%-79.1%) than in rural area (60.0%, 95%CI: 57.7%-62.4%), in males (69.8%, 95%CI: 67.8%-71.7%) than in females (65.9%, 95%CI: 63.7%-68.1%). The awareness rate of three related diseases in urban residents (49.8%, 95%CI: 47.3%-52.4%) were higher than that in rural residents (37.9%, 95%CI: 35.4%-40.5%); the awareness rate of passive smoking related lung cancer was highest (88.5%, 95%CI: 87.5%-89.5%), followed by lung disease in children (70.0%, 95%CI: 68.1%-71.9%), the awareness rate of passive smoking related heart disease was lowest (46.8%, 95%CI: 44.6%-49.1%). Conclusion The passive smoking exposure level is relatively high in adults in China, and the awareness rate of passive smoking exposure risks, especially heart disease, is low. Key words: Passive smoking exposure; Surveillance; Awareness rate; Tobacco control