Smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke, and smoking restrictions in Tijuana, Mexico.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the prevalence of tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, and smoking restrictions in the home and workplace among residents of Tijuana, one of Mexico's largest cities.


METHODS
This cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, during 2003 and 2004. A population-based sample of 400 Tijuana adult residents responded to a tobacco survey, and 397 of the surveys were analyzed.


RESULTS
About 22.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 18.7%-27.1%) of Tijuana adults reported current smoking, and 53.9% (95% CI: 48.8%-58.9%) reported chronic exposure to secondhand smoke. Approximately 44.4% (95% CI: 37.9%-50.9%) of Tijuana adults had a nonsmoking policy in their workplace, while 65.8% (95% CI: 61.0%-70.6%) of Tijuana households were smoke-free.


CONCLUSIONS
The results underline the need for increased tobacco control efforts, particularly stricter enforcement of existing passive smoking regulations, in order to expand protection from secondhand smoke from private settings to public ones and to curb the tobacco epidemic in Tijuana and elsewhere in Mexico.
Martínez-Donate
Ana P
AP
San Diego State University, Graduate School of Public Health, Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, San Diego, California 92123, USA. amartinez@projects.sdsu.edu
Hovell
Melbourne F
MF
Hofstetter
C Richard
CR
González-Pérez
Guillermo J
GJ
Adams
Marc A
MA
Sánchez
José de Jesús
Jde J
Guzmán-Cerda
Gabriela
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D017132:Workplace
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution