Smoking in the home in France in 2014 and trends since 2005
Introduction: Tobacco smoke, which contains 4,000 chemical compounds—including 250 harmful substances and 50 carcinogens—is harmful to both nonsmokers and smokers. Some people smoke indoors, which can expose other household members to secondhand smoke. Methods: In the Health Barometer, a telephone survey conducted among a representative sample of the French population aged 15 to 75, one question addresses the presence of smokers in the home. Asked in the 2005, 2010, and 2014 surveys, this question allows us to profile the population reporting smoking at home and to track changes over time. Results: In 2014, among the population of metropolitan France, 28.2% of those aged 15–75 reported that someone smoked inside their home, 8.2% occasionally, and 20.0% regularly. The presence of a smoker in the home was logically linked to smoking status: it was 15.7% among non-smokers and 52.2% among smokers. Younger non-smokers were particularly likely to report smoking in the home in 2014 (30.3% of those aged 15–24). Over the course of a decade, the proportion of the population reporting smoking at home fell from 32.8% in 2005 to 28.2% in 2014. Discussion: The decline in the prevalence of smoking inside the home appears significant, but of limited magnitude. The 2007 ban on smoking in public places did not lead to an increase in smoking at home, an argument used by opponents of this measure. On the contrary, anti-smoking legislation, accompanied by information campaigns on the risks of secondhand smoke, has helped raise awareness of the risks faced by those around smokers, an effort that must be continued and strengthened.
Author(s): Pasquereau A, Guignard R, Andler R, Richard JB, Arwidson P, Beck F, Nguyen Thanh V
Publishing year: 2016
Pages: 522-8
Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2016, n° 30-31, p. 522-8
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