No abstract

Using data from the Kanchanaburi demographic surveillance system in Thailand, this article documents that tobacco smoke affects 60% of the population. The main effect is through exposure to secondhand smoke. More than half of men are smokers compared with only one tenth of women. Most men tend to start smoking during their teenage years, whereas the majority of women start at later ages. The majority of households are exposed to secondhand smoke. The highest level of exposure is in rural areas. Smokers are most likely to be male and older, but those exposed to secondhand smoke tend to be female and younger. Exposure to secondhand smoke is more likely to occur in households with lower socioeconomic status. Logistic regression analysis supports 2 study hypotheses: that children and women are the most affected by secondhand smoke, and household factors are the most important factors affecting the exposure to secondhand smoke.

The experience of the Asian and Pa cific region shows a great di versity in lon gi tu di nal re search de signs, the find ings of which are ben e fit ing the un der stand ing of health and de mo graphic trans for ma tions and con trib ut ing to more ef fec tive pol i cies, programmes and ser vices.