Prevalence of second-hand smoke exposure after introduction of the Italian smoking ban: the Florence and Belluno survey.
OBJECTIVE
A law banning smoking in enclosed public places was implemented in Italy on January 10, 2005. The aim of this paper is to present a cross-sectional survey on two representative samples of non-smokers of two Italian towns (Florence and Belluno), conducted one year after the introduction of the ban, in order to assess prevalence of second-hand smoke exposure, to record the attitudes towards the ban, and the perception about its compliance in a representative sample of non-smokers.


METHODS
Computer-assisted telephone interviews were carried out in March 2006, from a random sample of households from telephone registries. Respondents were 402 non-smokers from Belluno and 1,073 from Florence.


RESULTS
About 12% of Florentines and 7% of Belluno respondents were exposed at home; 39% and 19%, respectively, at work; 10% and 5% in hospitality venues; 20% and 10% in cars. The smoke-free law was almost universally supported (about 98%) even if a smaller proportion of people (about 90%) had the perception that the ban was observed.


CONCLUSIONS
Second-hand smoke exposure at home and in hospitality premises has dropped to < or = 10%, whereas exposure at work remained higher. These results suggest the need for more controls in workplaces other than hospitality venues.
Gorini
Giuseppe
G
Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology Unit, Center for Study and Prevention of Cancer (CSPO), Florence, Italy. g.gorini@ispo.toscana.it
Gasparrini
Antonio
A
Tamang
Elizabeth
E
Nebot
Manel
M
Lopez
Maria José
MJ
Albertini
Marco
M
Marcolina
Daniela
D
Fernandez
Esteve
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017132:Workplace / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D055815:Young Adult
D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution