Smoking in a small city: an ethnographic study to serve as a base for the creation of a public health program.
OBJECTIVE
To outline the prevalence of smoking in the city of Parazinho, Brazil, with the objective of generating data on which to base a plan of action for smoking control programs in the city.


METHODS
A questionnaire was applied to 150 people (25.6% of whom were smokers) by community health agents during home visits. The questionnaire comprised 30 objective and subjective questions to collect social and biological information on smokers in urban and rural areas.


RESULTS
The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the principal findings were as follows: the prevalence of smoking was higher among males (57.8%); most of the interviewees started smoking at an early age (45% before the age of 12); economic conditions constituted a contributing factor (66% of the smokers interviewed earned less than the minimum wage); most of the interviewees reported difficulty in kicking the habit (44.6% reported living with a smoker, and 80% had a friend who smoked); there was a high prevalence of tobacco-related diseases (56.6% had respiratory problems); and there was concomitant alcohol use in 52% of the smokers.


CONCLUSIONS
This outline can be used in the generation of a local program of smoking prevention and control. Such a program is, in fact, under development. A team of professionals has received training in a 'minimal, intensive approach to the smoker', and a municipal outpatient clinic for the treatment of nicotine dependence has been inaugurated.
Falcão
Thales Jenner de Oliveira
TJ
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte - Natal, Brazil. thalesjenner@ig.com.br
Costa
Iris do Céu Clara
Ido C
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D016730:Program Development; D011634:Public Health; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population