Trends in adult smoking behavior from 2004 to 2007

Background: The Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP) in Taiwan has conducted annual population-based telephone surveys to monitor mechanism on tobacco consumption since 2004. This national survey is used as the gold standard to determine trends in Taiwanese adult smoking prevalence. Objectives: This study is to explore the smoking prevalence and trends in the adult population from 2004 to 2007. Methods: Data were derived from the BHP adult tobacco use surveys which used the probability proportional to size sampling (PPS) technique. On average, the nationally representative samples were greater than 16,000 each year. Results: The smoking prevalence from 2004 to 2007 was 26.4%, 24.4%, 23.5%, and 23.2% respectively. The smoking prevalence for male respondents decreased from 46% to 41% , while females ranged from 5% to 6%. The exposure of second hand smoking decreased from 32.4% in 2004 to 28.1% in 2007. Of the smoking respondents, intention of quitting smoking ranged from 40.9% to 46.3%. Yet, those who maintain smoke free for less than one month increased from 61.8% in 2004 to 87.5% in 2007. The significant differences between gender and ethnic groups were also observed. Conclusions: Adult smoking prevalence is decreasing year by year in Taiwan, however we still have a great way to go. These findings suggest that we must continue to strengthen the efficiency of smoking prevention and tailor gender specific education.