Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Frances Stillman, EdD, Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21209, 4106145378, fstillma@jhsph.edu

China ratified the FCTC in May, 2005 and the Chinese are increasingly aware of the significant impact of the tobacco epidemic on their society. However, it has been difficult to implement policies to protect the population from secondhand tobacco smoke since concerns about the possible negative economic impact of tobacco control policies dominate decision-making. While a few places in China have passed local bans forbidding smoking in public places, for the vast majority of the country enforcement and public compliance with smoking bans are poor, especially in rural areas, where resources are limited and many more pressing problems compete for attention. As part of our Fogarty Center International Tobacco Control research project, secondhand smoke exposure monitoring was conducted in a total of 273 public places, including hospitals, secondary schools, government buildings, restaurants and entertainment establishments and in 60 homes in the three provinces and Beijing. Nicotine was detected in 91% of the locations monitored. The highest concentrations were found in restaurants and entertainment places, and the lowest were found in schools. Overall, secondhand smoke exposure levels are higher than in others countries that have been monitored. This presentation will provide information on both the public place and home monitoring effort. The monitoring method could also be useful component of a surveillance system for evaluating trends in SHS exposure as they relate to clean indoor air policies in the city/county.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the methods used to assess second hand smoke exposure in public places and homes across China.
• Recognize the differences that exist in rural and urban areas of China.
• Discuss possible interventions that could be conducted to reduce exposure to second hand smoke.

Keywords: Tobacco Control,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation