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Smoking practices in New York City: The use of a population-based survey to guide policy-making and programming

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Abstract

To inform New York City’s (NYC’s) tobacco control program, we identified the neighborhoods with the highest smoking rates, estimated the burden of second-band smoke exposure, assessed the early response to state taxation, and examined cessation practices. We used a stratified random design to conduct a digit-dialed telephone survey in 2002 among 9,674 New York City adults. Our main outcome measures included prevalence of cigarette smoking, exposure to second-hand smoke, the response of smokers to state tax increases, and cessation practices. Even after controlling for sociodemographic factors (age, racelethnicity, income, education, marital status, employment status, and foreign-born status) smoking rates were highest in Central Harlem and in the South Bronx. Sixteen percent of nonsmokers reported frequent exposure to second-hand smoke at home or in a workplace. Among smokers with a child with asthma, only 33% reported having a no-smoking policy in their homes. More than one fifth of smokers reported reducing the number of cigarettes they smoked in response to the state tax increase. Of current smokers who tried to quit, 65% used no cessation aid. These data were used to inform New York City’s smoke-free legislation, taxation, public education, and a free nicotine patch give-away program. In conclusion, large, local surveys can provide essential data to effectively advocate for, plan, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive tobacco control program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau of Epidemiology Services, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, USA

    Farzad Mostashari MD, Ms (Guarantor) &  Bonnie D. Kerker

  2. North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness, University of North Carolina School of Public Health, North Carolina, USA

    Anjum Hajat

  3. Bureau of Tobacco Control, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, USA

    Nancy Miller

  4. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, Room 315, CN 6, 10013, New York, NY

    Thomas R. Frieden

Authors
  1. Farzad Mostashari MD, Ms
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  2. Bonnie D. Kerker
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  3. Anjum Hajat
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  4. Nancy Miller
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  5. Thomas R. Frieden
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Additional information

Dr. Mostashari (the guarantor) made substantial contributions to the conception, design, and supervision of this paper, the analysis and interpretation of data, the drafting of the paper, critical revisions of the paper for important intellectual content, and the acquisition of data and funding for this research. Dr. Kerker made substantial contributions to the analysis and interpretation of data, the drafting of the paper and critical revisions of the paper for important intellectual content. Ms. Hajat made substantial contributions to the acquisition of data and critical revisions of the paper for important intellectual content. Dr. Miller made substantial contributions to the conception of this paper and critical revisions of the paper for important intellectual content. Dr. Frieden made substantial contributions to the conception, design, and supervision of this paper and critical revisions of the paper for important intellectual content.

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Mostashari, F., Kerker, B.D., Hajat, A. et al. Smoking practices in New York City: The use of a population-based survey to guide policy-making and programming. J Urban Health 82, 58–70 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti008

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti008

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