SMOKING IN ITALY, 1994

The prevalence of smoking in Italian males and females has been Invest igated using data from the National Health Survey (first cycle), colle cted between January and March 1994, and based on a total sample of 13 ,048 individuals (6,307 males and 6,741 females) representative of the general Italian population. Overall, 24.2% of Italians aged 15 years or over described themselves as current smokers (32.6% of males and 16 .3% of females). Ex-smokers were 14.2%, including 22.3% of males and 6 .6% of females; never smokers were 61.6% (45.1% of males, 77.1% of fem ales). In both sexes, the highest proportions of smokers were young to middle-aged (35-44 years), and there was a substantial decline in smo king rates in the youngest age group (15-24 years), to reach 19.8% of males and 9.9% of females. A steady and substantial decline in reporte d smoking prevalence over time was observed in males (from 54.2% in 19 80 to 32.6% in 1994), whereas smoking prevalence remained approximatel y stable around 17% in females. This was due to some increase in smoki ng prevalence among women over 35 years of age, following a cohort eff ect, and the low quit rate among females. The average number of cigare ttes per smoker per day was slightly up, to reach 18.3 in males and 13 .4 in females in 1994. The fall in reported cigarette consumption was only partly reflected in legal sale data, which showed for 1993 a cons umption of 1.86 kg per adult per year, corresponding to 5.1 cigarettes per day. Taking into account also smuggling, this indicates that inte rview-based figures were underestimated by at least 25%. In males, but not in females, smoking was less frequent in northern and more develo ped areas of the country and among more educated individuals. Among It alians with a university degree, smoking rates were for the first time higher in females (31.5%) than in males (23.7%). Thus, the data from the 1994 National Health Survey confirm the long-term decline in smoki ng prevalence among Italian males, in the absence however of appreciab le changes in females.