Prevalence of heavy smokers in the year 2000 in the province of Varese, Italy.

ABSTRACT: Prevalence of heavy smokers in the year
2000 in the Province of Varese, Italy. A. Imperatori, N.
Rotolo, V. Conti, D. Di Natale, V. Tropeano, W. Mantovani.
Background. Knowing the prevalence of heavy smokers
(HS) by gender and age is a pre-requisite for bringing
into effect public health measures against smoking-related
diseases. Smoking prevalence data is available for the Italian
Regions, however it is generally unknown for the Italian
Provinces.
Methods. In the year 2000 a survey of smoking prevalence
was conducted by 47 general practitioners (GPs), by
personal interview, in a large sample of the Varese
Province population 45-74 years of age (28,034 subjects;
13,528 men, 14,506 women). Each surveyed subject was
categorised either as ever HS (current/former smoker of
at least 10 pack-years) or as non HS. The information on
smoking habit collected by the GPs was anonymously
pooled for analysis. Prevalence figures of smoking were
tabulated by gender and by 5-year age-strata.
Results. In the population 45-74 years of age the percentage
of ever HS overall was 22.3% (34.4% of men;
11.0% of women). The prevalence of ever HS in both sexes
combined progressively decreased with advancing age,
from 23.6% (45-49 year stratum) to 19.5% (70-74 year stratum).
Current HS were 24.5% of men and 9.5% of women.
Conclusions. The year 2000 survey on smoking habit,
showing 22.3% prevalence of ever HS in age range 45-74
years, is the first conducted in the Varese Province using a
large population sample. The data on heavy cigarette
smoking presented in this paper, stratified by gender and
age, may be used to monitor changes in the smoking habit
and in the incidence of smoking-related illnesses at the
provincial level.