Home Smoking Bans in an Urbanizing Community in China

Background

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a major threat to public health worldwide. Previous studies have suggested that home smoking bans effectively reduce SHS exposure to nonsmokers in the home. In China, the world's largest tobacco producer and consumer, more than 540 million nonsmokers are exposed to SHS. However, to our knowledge, no published studies have examined the prevalence or correlates of home smoking bans in mainland China. This paper presents a quantitative study on home smoking bans in an urbanizing community in Shanghai, China.

Methods

In 2006, a cross-sectional survey based on probability sampling (N=243) was conducted in Changqiao, an urbanizing community in Shanghai, China. Interviews were conducted in person in Mandarin Chinese by trained interviewers. The behavioral ecologic model, which emphasizes the multilevel environmental contingencies of behavior, was applied as the theoretical model. Data were analyzed in 2008 using logistic regression to explore correlates of complete home smoking bans.

Results

In this community, only 26% of respondents reported having complete home smoking bans. Smoking respondents and families were less likely to have complete smoking bans in the home. Home smoking bans were positively associated with the perceived density of smoke-free homes in the community, and with the perceived likelihood of community reprimand for smoking in the home.

Conclusions

Home smoking bans were not widely adopted in this community in China. Future interventions should focus on the community and social environment in order to promote home smoking bans.