Passive smoking in Brazil: Results from the 2008 Special Survey on Smoking

The scope of this article was to describe indoor passive smoking, at home and at work, among Brazilians (15+ years) participants of the "Special Research on Smoking", a sub-sample of the PNAD 2008. Non-smokers who reported exposure to indoor household smoking were classified as daily or occasional passive smokers, based on the frequency of exposure. Associations with socio-demographic factors were verified by logistic regression analysis. Among 25,005 participants, prevalence of daily and occasional household exposure were 12.5% and 21%, respectively. Compared to those not exposed, daily exposure decreased with increasing age, schooling and income. Occasional exposure is not influenced by age, but decreases with increasing schooling and income. Compared to the Southeast Region, daily exposure was lower in the North and Central West and higher in the Northeast. Among those 10,933 with indoor occupations, 55% of men and 45% of women reported worksite exposure and 67% of them also reported household exposure. Prevalence of exposure at work is higher in men, older adults (55+ years) and among those with lower schooling and income and lower among South Region residents. Social inequality in Brazil is seen in greater exposure to passive smoking among those with lower incomes and less education.