Cigarette smoking in Latin America--A survey of eight cities

During the period 1962-1964, diseases related to cigarette smoking were responsible for 20 per cent of all deaths in men between the ages of 35 and 64 in 10 large Latin American cities, and in the years that followed various indicators pointed to the fact that cigarette smoking was reaching very high levels in several countries of the Region. In the light of these trends, an investigation was undertaken in eight cities selected for their geographic, ethnic, and demographic diversity--Bogotá, Caracas, Guatemala City, La Plata (Argentina), Lima, Mexico City, Santiago, and São PAulo. The aims of the study were: to obtain a reliable estimate of the prevalence of cigarette smoking in urban communities in Latin America, to establish a correlation between the habit and certain symptoms of cardiorespiratory and other disability, and to obtain an accurate assessment of public beliefs and attitudes with respect to cigarette smoking and its relation to health. One of the questionnaires used was similar to one employed in comparable investigations made in the United States in 1964, 1966, and 1970. Additional information on cardiorespiratory symptoms, non-specific mortality, absenteeism, and other subjects was collected on two other forms, one recommended by AHO and the other by the United States National Health Statistics Center.