Correlates of exposure to second-hand smoke in an urban Mediterranean population

We analysed cross-sectional data on self-reported SHS exposure in 1059 non-daily smokers interviewed in the Cornellà Health Interview Survey Follow-up Study in 2002. We calculated age-adjusted prevalence rates and prevalence rate ratios of SHS exposure at home, at the workplace, during leisure time, and in any of these settings.The age-standardized prevalence rate of SHS exposure in any setting was 69.5% in men and 62.9% in women. Among men, 25.9% reported passive smoking at home, 55.1% during leisure time, and 34.0% at the workplace. Among women, prevalence rates in these settings were 34.1%, 44.3% and 30.1%, respectively. Overall exposure to SHS decreased with age in both men and women. In men, SHS exposure was related to marital status, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol intake. In women, SHS exposure was related to educational level, marital status, occupational status, self-perceived health, smoking-related illness, and alcohol intake.The prevalence of SHS exposure in this population was high. The strongest association with exposure were found for age and occupational status in men, and age and educational level in women.The Surgeon General's report [1] in 1986 and the report of the US Environmental Protection Agency [2] (EPA) in 1992 defined passive smoking or second-hand smoke (SHS) as a health hazard. More recently, SHS has been classified as "carcinogenic to humans (Group 1)" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer [3]. Passive smoking is a proven cause of lung cancer as well as other tumours in non-smokers, and is also related to the development of respiratory diseases in children and adults, and to the appearance of cardiovascular diseases [2-4].In Spain, where the smoking epidemic was delayed compared to other Western countries[5-9], exposure to SHS was not considered a public health concern until recently [10,11]. Smoking at the workplace and in public places was common and rarely restricted [12-14] until the introduction of a comprehens