Knowledge about tobacco according to smoking habit and level of formal education

Tobacco related illnesses are important public health issues worldwide. Population9s knowledge about smoking and awareness about health risks are keys for cessation. We aimed to analyze the knowledge about tobacco and how this is influenced by smoking habit and level of formal education. We interviewed citizens who took part in an event of preventive health in a town of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. We interviewed 190 subjects, with age 49.5 + 18y, 59% males, 26,3% smokers, 49% non-smokers and 24,7% former smokers. A standard questionnaire was applied with the following main questions: 1) Is tobacco dependence a disease?; 2) Is low level of consumption safe?; 3) Do you receive any information about tobacco? The level of formal education was classified: IE (incomplete elementary), CE (complete elementary), HS (high school) and G (graduated). About 87% of the subjects interviewed received some kind of information about tobacco. However, 27% of them did not considered smoking a disease and 32% considered that a low level of smoking would not represent a damage or risk to their health. In conclusion, the percentage of smokers in our sample is consistent with the prevalence of tobacco smoking in our country. The percentage of former smokers reflects the impact of Brazilian policies for tobacco control. Although anti-smoking campaigns are designed to reach all social layers through an accessible language, we find that the knowledge about tobacco are still incomplete among general population.