Study On SHS Exposure Among Urban Middle And High School Student In Zhejiang Province, China

ObjectiveTo determine the extent of secondhand smoke exposure among urban teenagers in Zhejiang, and to explore the potential associated factors, aiming to provide evidence for interfering among teenagers in future.MethodsThis study was a Cross-sectional Survey examining SHS exposure among urban teenagers using a Multi-stage cluster sample design. A total of3799teenagers from22schools and3591families were interviewed by using questionnaire in2011.ResultsThe findings revealed that10.55%of urban teenagers tried smoking, and4.05%were smokers.59.44%of urban teenagers were exposed to SHS, the prevalence of SHS exposure was60.59%for boy,56.96%for girls,56.89%for juniors,60.50%for seniors,44.85%in home and32.28%in schools. The percentages of awareness about harmful substances in tobacco were as follows:nicotine (90.92%), tar (75.91%), and carbon monoxide (58.09%). The percentage of awareness that cigarette smoking has been associated with lung cancer was94.10%, and the percentage of awareness that filters can’t eliminate the hazards was less than a quarter. The rate of positive attitude to smoking was64.04%, and32.51%of respondents were willing to persuade others when they were smoking.58.94%of respondents supported no smoking in public, and53.09%of respondents agreed that a comprehensive ban on all forms of tobacco advertising. Shools had carried out intervention activities about tobacco control as follows:tobacco knowledge (67.39%), smoking negative effect on appearance (47.75%), and reject smoking skill (27.95%). The proportion of smokers in the crowd surrounding teenagers was bigger,61.54%for fathers and34.17%for teachers.59.26%of families offered guests cigarettes and48.01%of families bought cigarettes as gifts. Teenages were exposed to SHS exposure in class aggregates. Somking in the crowd surrounding teenages increase the risk of SHS exposure among uban teenagers, as follows:parents (OR=9.24), teachers (OR=2.03), companions (OR=1.91), and other family memberss (OR=1.22). Reject smoking skill-based health education was an important factor against SHS exposure among uban teenagers (OR=0.81).ConclusionsThere remains a high degree of exposure to secondhand smoke among urban teenagers in Zhejiang. It is important to reduce and control smoking in the crowd surrounding teenagers, and conduct tobacco control educational courses to reduce indoor SHS exposure.