Prevalence of smokers among air-conditioned coaches, Pakistan

To estimate the proportion of smokers among passengers of air-conditioned (A/C) coaches running between Karachi and Hyderabad. Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was done on passengers and staff members of 20 air-conditioned coaches. Of 847 passengers interviewed, 17.3% were smokers and 11.7% passen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Pakistan Medical Association Vol. 51; no. 11; p. 405
Main Authors Mal, R, Rizvi, N, Rathi, S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Pakistan 01.11.2001
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Air Conditioning
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Vehicles
Pakistan - epidemiology
Smoking - epidemiology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Pakistan
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:To estimate the proportion of smokers among passengers of air-conditioned (A/C) coaches running between Karachi and Hyderabad. Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey was done on passengers and staff members of 20 air-conditioned coaches. Of 847 passengers interviewed, 17.3% were smokers and 11.7% passengers smoked during travel while rest of them remained passive smokers. Out of 147 smokers 91.2% were literate persons. Among staff members 59.3% were smokers. Approximately 56% of smokers among passengers were in the age range of 14-40 years. In 95% of A/C coaches there were no anti-smoking warning signs or written words present. In this study majority of smokers were literate, so inter-personal communication and counseling may change the smoking behavior. Ministry of Health should disseminate educational messages regarding hazards of passive smoking among commuters of AC coaches and above all proper implementation of legislation for smoking at public places especially in transport.
ISSN:0030-9982