Smoking behavior amongst different socioeconomic groups in the workplace in the People's Republic of China

The current study applied the PRECEDE behavior model to investigate differences in predisposing factors, enabling factors, reinforcing factors and smoking behavior among white-collar and blue-collar workers in Guangzhou, China. This was done because tobacco consumption has increased markedly and is linked to several severe health problems in China. A total of 1320 subjects from different companies participated in the study. A four-part survey including predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors of cigarette smoking and smoking behavior was used to collect data. Smoking was reported by 83.4% of men and 11.5% of women, and 66.1% of white-collar workers and 41.7% of blue-collar workers, with an average rate of 54.6%. Significant differences existed in predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors, as well as smoking behavior among these two groups of workers. White-collar workers exhibited more positive predisposing factors of cigarette smoking than blue-collar workers. On the other hand, blue-collar workers had more positive results than white-collar workers in enabling and re inforcing factors. Blue-collar workers also consumed fewer cigarettes than white-collar workers. It is concluded that smoking behavior is affected strongly by enabling factors and reinforcing factors such as socio-economic and environmental factors in the workplace in China.

Blue collar · Business · China · Cigarette smoking · Collar · Consumption (sociology) · Demographic economics · Environmental health · Geography · Population · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · White (mutation) · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Demography · Indoor Air Quality and Microbial Exposure · Medicine · Smoking Behavior and Cessation

• Smoking, cessation and expenditure in low income Chinese

  Open Access•Therese Hesketh, Li Lu et al.•BMC Public Health•2007

  Add to list