Abstract
The primary objective of the present study was to compare the prevalence and patterns of second-hand smoke (SHS) exposure in the home, workplace, public places, and at all three places amongst the non-smoker respondents between the two rounds of Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in India. The secondary objectives were to assess the differences in various factors associated with SHS exposure among non-smokers. This secondary data analysis incorporated data generated from the previous two rounds of the cross-sectional, nationally representative GATS India, which covered 69,296 and 74,037 individuals aged 15 years and above. Exposure to the SHS at home, workplace, and public places amongst the non-smokers were the primary outcome variables. Standard definitions of the surveys were used. The overall weighted prevalence of exposure to SHS amongst the non-smokers inside the home and public places reduced. In contrast, the prevalence in the workplace increased marginally in round II compared to I. The proportion of adults who were exposed to SHS at all three places did not change much in two rounds of surveys. A decrease in the knowledge of the respondents exposed to SHS at home and public places was observed about the harmful effects of smoking in round II. Age, gender, occupation, place, and region of respondents were found to be significant determinants of SHS exposure at all the three places on multinomial logistic regression analysis. The study calls for focused interventions in India and stringent implementation of anti-tobacco legislation, especially in the workplaces for reducing the exposure to SHS amongst the non-smokers and to produce encouraging and motivating results by next round of the survey.
Highlights
Second-hand smoke (SHS) is expressed as the “sum of tobacco smoke exposures in the multiple microenvironments where a person spends time” [1]
The proportion of adults who were exposed to second-hand smoke (SHS) at all three places did not change much in two rounds of surveys
A decrease in the knowledge of the respondents exposed to SHS at home and public places was observed about the harmful effects of smoking in round II
Summary
Second-hand smoke (SHS) is expressed as the “sum of tobacco smoke exposures in the multiple microenvironments where a person spends time” [1]. The SHS concentration depends on the number of tobacco products smoked during a period- the volume of the enclosed space, the ventilation rate, other processes that might eliminate pollutants, and individual-related characteristics [2]. Chronic exposure to SHS is suggested to be, on average, 80%–90% as harmful as chronic active smoking with a significant dose-response relationship [4,5,6]. SHS exposure is attributed to the same complications as active smoking, including both acute and chronic diseases [2]. SHS affects the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and emotional changes like depression in non-smokers. SHS increases the risk for more severe problems, including sudden infant death syndrome [7]. There is a high incidence of tuberculosis among smokers and those exposed to SHS [8]
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