Abstract
The aim of this study is to Estimate the prevalence of passive smoking among adult males at a hospital based primary care clinic, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross sectional Study conducted at a primary care clinic at King Khalid University hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the period from January to June 2010. All adult male patients who visited the clinic were interviewed and asked about their exposure to passive smoking during the last (one) month and where were the common places of exposure. Also their opinion about their behavior toward smokers was discussed. Data has been entered and analyzed using Statistical package of social science SPSS version 15.5.
Results: The current study highlighted the preliminary estimate of the prevalence of passive smoking among adult male patients attending a primary care clinic, at a university teaching hospital, to be 83.2%. Also it showed that public places were the most common places where most non smokers were exposed to the hazards of passive smoking. Most passive smokers were unhappy and have been disturbed by smoking hazards, and most of them think that active smokers are careless about theirenvironment, while 79.9% of passive smokers had difficulty leaving the place where smoking occurred because it is shared and they have their own task to finish during that time.
Conclusion and recommendation: The Prevalence of passive smoking in Saudi Arabia needs to be further studied in a community based survey, as the preliminary estimate in this study showed high prevalence of passive smoking especially in public places. It is highly important to educate all families and communities about the importance of avoiding smoking in front of others, and to emphasize the importance of strict implementation and follow up of anti smoking regulations especially in public places.