The INAsma study - Environmental tobacco smoke exposure at home and smoking prevalence in the Portuguese population

Background: The data on the prevalence of tobacco smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in Portugal is scarce, especially after the 2008 smoking bans. Aims: We aimed to: 1) estimate the prevalence of exposure to ETS at home and of tobacco smoking in Portugal; 2) identify variables associated with smoking or exposure to ETS. Methods: Nationwide, cross-sectional, population-based telephone survey; 6003 individuals participated. ETS exposure at home was defined as exposure to at least one current smoker (CS) at home. A smoker was someone with ≥15 years smoking at least 1 cigarette per day during a year; a CS smoked in the last month. Results: Exposure to ETS at home was reported by 26.6% (95%CI 25.5-27.7). Age Nineteen percent (95%CI 18.0-20.0) of the Portuguese population is CS and 17.2% (95%CI 16.2-18.2) are ex-smokers; CS prevalence is higher in males than females (26.5% vs. 12.2%, p Conclusion: Exposure to ETS at home in Portugal was higher than previously reported. Children/adolescents and asthma patients had a higher risk of exposure. The prevalence of tobacco smoking was slightly lower than in previous reports.