Decrease in Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Work and Public Places among Adults in the Philippines: An Analysis of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2009 and 2015

Alissa C Kress; Lazarous Mbulo; Carlen Stadnik; Rizalina Hemedez-Gonzalez; Evelyn Twentyman; E Ulysses Dorotheo; Liping Pan

doi:10.3390/ijerph20021077

Decrease in Secondhand Smoke Exposure in Work and Public Places among Adults in the Philippines: An Analysis of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey, 2009 and 2015

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 7;20(2):1077. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021077.

Authors

Alissa C Kress¹, Lazarous Mbulo¹, Carlen Stadnik², Rizalina Hemedez-Gonzalez³, Evelyn Twentyman¹, E Ulysses Dorotheo⁴, Liping Pan¹

Affiliations

¹ Office on Smoking and Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
² Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, USA.
³ Tobacco Advocacy Group, Philippine Pediatric Society, Quezon City 1101, Philippines.
⁴ Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, Bangkok 10300, Thailand.

Abstract

The implementation of several tobacco control policies in the Philippines may have contributed to a decrease in secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure. We examined changes in SHS exposure at work and in public places between 2009 and 2015 among adults aged ≥15 years and interpreted these results within the tobacco policy landscape in the Philippines. We analyzed the Philippines Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2009 and 2015 data. We examined marginal effects in logistic regression to get the adjusted prevalence of SHS exposure at five work and public places, controlling for selected characteristics. We calculated adjusted prevalence ratios and adjusted prevalence differences between 2009 and 2015. Adjusted prevalence of SHS exposure decreased from 2009 to 2015 by 19% (5.7 percentage points) at work, 45% (11.2 percentage points) in government buildings, 48% (3.2 percentage points) in healthcare facilities, 29% (8.2 percentage points) in restaurants, and 33% (19.9 percentage points) on public transportation. Although the prevalence of SHS exposure at work and in public places decreased significantly between 2009 and 2015, a substantial proportion of adults remain exposed to SHS. This study highlights the importance of continued implementation, enforcement, monitoring, and evaluation of tobacco control and prevention measures in the Philippines.

Keywords: Philippines; secondhand smoke; smoking; tobacco; tobacco smoke pollution.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Environmental Exposure
Nicotiana
Philippines / epidemiology
Prevalence
Smoke-Free Policy*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tobacco Smoke Pollution* / prevention & control

Substances

Tobacco Smoke Pollution

Grants and funding

The APC for this paper was provided by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use through the CDC Foundation with a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.