Employment and social "determinants" of smoking in urbanizing China: a representative survey.
BACKGROUND
This study explored social determinants of smoking among a sample of male Chinese adults in Changqiao, a community representing the transition from traditional to a "mobile" urban culture in China. New commercial systems have introduced high profits but also layoffs in the absence of government security systems.


METHODS
In-person interviews were conducted by trained interviewers with 123 male participants selected at random. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were computed based on the Behavioral Ecological Model (BEM). About 61% of male participants were ever-smokers and 48% were current smokers.


RESULTS
Current smoking was associated with involuntary unemployment (odds ratio [OR] = 6.52), the absence of home smoking restrictions (OR = 0.34), and social reinforcement such as friends' smoking (OR = 4.02) and receiving smoking-related gifts (OR = 6.39).


CONCLUSIONS
Findings support the BEM. It is especially important to verify the relationship between unemployment and smoking, given the recent rise in involuntary job loss due to the transitional economy in China.
Center for Behavioral Epidemiology and Community Health, Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92123, USA.
Ding
D
Ding
Melbourne F
MF
Hovell
Ming
M
Ji
C Richard
CR
Hofstetter
Pinpin
P
Zheng
Hua
H
Fu
Suzanne C
SC
Hughes
D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*