Tobacco smoking, legislation and smoking cessation in Italy: a national portrait

This report presents a national "portrait" of tobacco smoking in Italy during the year 2005, current Italian legislation, and the smoking cessation programs organized by the Observatory on Tobacco Smoking, Drugs and Alcohol. Regarding tobacco consumption in 2005, 12,570,000 individuals (corresponding to 25.6% of the adult population) were current smokers; 9,150,000 (18.6%) were ex smokers and 27,400,000 (55.8%) were non smokers, the prevalence of smokers being highest in the group aged 25-44 years. Since 1975, tobacco smoking has been prohibited in hospitals, on public transport and in cinemas. The prohibition of tobacco smoking was extended to work-places of Public Administration and Public Companies in 1995, and since 2003 smoking has been banned in all closed places of employment (including bars, restaurants, pubs) open to the public with the exception of those places which have rooms reserved for smokers. The majority of Italian smoking cessation centers listed on the website of the Observatory on Tobacco Smoking, Drugs and Alcohol of the Istituto Superiore di Sanita participated in a longitudinal study aimed at evaluating the efficacy of different interventions for smoking cessation. At 12 months follow up, the proportion of those abstaining from smoking, though the use of different cessation treatments, was around 40% of the initial participants.