Nigerian urban married women's perceptions of exposure to secondary tobacco smoke

We investigated urban, married Nigerian women's knowledge of the health risks associated with secondary tobacco smoke, their attitudes toward this problem, and the preventive efforts they took when they or their children were exposed involuntarily to secondary tobacco smoke. Two hundred forty-nine women were surveyed with a structured, written questionnaire. The results indicated that these predominantly well-educated and professionally employed Nigerian women had only a fair knowledge of the adverse health effects of exposure to secondary tobacco smoke. Although their attitudes toward exposure to secondary tobacco smoke were generally quite good, they were reluctant to take preventive measures in public. The most prominent factors relating to knowledge and attitudes were age, educational level, and smoking status. Attitudes proved to be a stronger predictor of preventive efforts than knowledge.