Smoking Habits in Romania

Abstract

The main aspects and consequences of tobacco use resulting from a series of field surveys in Romania are reviewed. The proportion of smokers in middle-aged adults is about 10 per cent for women and 40 to 50 per cent for men. Cigarettes are practically the only form of tobacco consumed--cigars are very rarely smoked and pipe-smoking accounts for less than 1 per cent of tobacco use. Less than 10 per cent of smokers use more than 25 cigarettes a day. Age at starting to smoke is low, with a quarter of smokers taking up the habit by the age of 15. Ninety per cent of the smokers admit to inhaling, and about half the men and nearly all the women smoke filter cigarettes.

Respiratory symptoms, chronic bronchitis, and ventilatory function in shipyard welders

“…To avoid the influence of sex, it was decided to include in our study only men; to ensure a minimal duration of exposure it was decided to include workers with at least 5 years experience; welders with major chronic respiratory, heart, or chest wall diseases or with previous exposure to respiratory hazards were excluded Of the 182 welders who fulfilled the above criteria 173 (= 95 %) were investigated. Their age ranged from 22-57 (mean 34 1) years; 81 were smokers ( 47 %), 59 never smoked ( 34 %), and 33 ( 19 %) were ex-smokers, the smoking habit being similar to other working males in this country (Racoveanu et al , 1975) After identification of the worker, a respiratory symptoms questionnaire (MRC, 1966) was filled in by interview by one of the authors, attention being paid to the medical and occupational history. The definitions of chronic cough and chronic bronchitis were those recommended by the questionnaire instructions; dyspnea was recorded only if severe enough that the subject had to walk at his own pace on the level; wheezing and paroxysmal dyspnea were recorded only if present frequently between colds The interview was followed by a physical examination W C W C W C W C < 30 30 16 7 5 22 15 59 36 31-40 41 22 17 5 21 14 79 41 41-50 9 8 7 4 14 5 30 17 51 + 1 2 2 2 2 2 5 6 Total 81 48 33 16 59 36 173 1 oo W = welders; C = controls.…”