Background: Second hand smoke (SHS) exposure is a severe public health problem, especially in low and middle countries, but no studies have examined both individual and city-level variables influencing exposure.
Methods: A cross-sectional multistage sampling design was used to survey subjects from 21 cities in China. Using a standardized questionnaire individual level information was collected. City-level variables were retrieved from the National Bureau of Statistics database. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to assess SHS exposure variation at both the individual and city level.
Results: SHS exposure prevalence among non-smokers was 28.1% (95% CI 27.1-29.0). At the individual level lower educational attainment and income and higher exposure to tobacco advertising were associated with higher SHS exposure. On the other hand richer cities, and those with more anti-smoking media news coverage, had less SHS exposure. The presence of city smokefree regulations was unrelated to exposure.
Conclusions: Given its human and economic costs, reducing SHS exposure should receive greater priority than it does in China. The results point to the need for the enactment of national smokefree laws in order to combat unacceptably high levels of SHS exposure.