[Smoking habits among women over 30 years old in Małopolska]

The aim of the study was to estimate smoking habits and their intensity among women from urban and rural residents of Małopolska voivodship.

A structured questionnaire was used by trained nurses who conducted personal interview. Questions regarding smoking referred to age of starting smoking, duration of smoking, average daily number of cigarettes smoked. The total number of collected interviews was 840. Lifetime exposure to cigarette smoking was expressed in pack-years.

Data were collected among 602 urban and 238 rural women from Małopolska voivodship. In Małopolska, there are 23.4% current smokers among women, 21.7% are ex-smokers, and about 55% never smoked. The percentage of never smokers in women is significantly higher among the rural women group (67.3%) than urban women group (50.0%). Currently smoking are 25.9% urban inhabitans and 17.2% women from rural population. There were no significant differences in smoking habits among younger group of women (below 50 years) living in urban and rural areas.

The present results indicate that female population in urban and rural areas need effective educational strategy associated with presenting negative consequences of tobacco smoking and support in quitting the addiction.