Background: In the fall of 1998, 9095 smokers above 18 years, were intervie
wed about their smoking behaviour and knowledge and attitudes relating to t
he smoking. The survey (S) was conducted for the Cancer Commission of the E
U and sponsored by SmithKline Beecham. An anti-smoking thermometer that is
intended to assess the anti-smoking climate (ASC) in each EU country plus P
oland was created. In doing so country owners of the S were asked to choose
and rank the five questions in the S they thought best reflected the ASC.
The five questions chosen were - smoking is a major cause of death and dise
ase, want to stop smoking, governments should do more, ever made a serious
quit attempt and smoke free areas should be provided. Method: the smokers c
omprised a representative sample of smoking cigarette per day, vis-a-vis ag
e, sex and rural or urban area. Face to face interviews were conducted usin
g a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: Poland had the most developed A
SC, 368 points, followed closely by Sweden 358. In the bottom were Germany
266 and Austria 258. Large differences were noted on willingness to quit; f
rom the 85% in Sweden to Italy 37%. Conclusion: the ASC varies considerably
within EU and measures to reduce the death and disease from smoking should
be tailored to the situation in each country. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ir
eland Ltd. All rights reserved.