Exposure to tobacco smoke in public spaces and social venues in France in 2014

Introduction: The number of deaths linked to secondhand smoke in France has been estimated at 1,100 per year. A ban on smoking in public places and social venues was implemented in France in 2007 and 2008. It is important to monitor the impact of this ban on the French population’s exposure to secondhand smoke. Methods: In 2014, questions regarding exposure to secondhand smoke from others in the workplace, educational settings, and social venues were added to the Health Barometer, a survey conducted among a representative sample of the French population aged 15 to 75. Results and Discussion: Results are presented for each setting. 1) Workplaces (indoors) are not entirely smoke-free: 15% of employed adults reported having been exposed to secondhand smoke at least once in the past 30 days. 2) Nearly three-quarters of students over the age of 15 reported having been exposed to secondhand smoke “at school, high school, or college,” without specifying the exact location (indoors or outdoors). Exposure near school grounds was likely partially accounted for here; this result remains concerning nonetheless. 3) Among those aged 15–75 who had visited these venues in the past 30 days, 9% reported being exposed to secondhand smoke at least once in a restaurant, 30% in cafés, bars, and pubs, and 40% in nightclubs. These data for social venues, which are higher than those reported in the International Tobacco Control (ITC) survey conducted in late 2012, seem to suggest a decline in the enforcement of the legislation. However, this interpretation should be treated with caution, as the questions were not identical.

Author(s): Pasquereau A, Guignard R, Andler R, Richard JB, Arwidson P, Beck F, Nguyen Thanh V

Publishing year: 2016

Pages: 253-263

Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin, 2016, n° 15, p. 253-263

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