Over two thirds of people in the Czech Republic do not know what the most frequent cause of death related to smoking. It has been shown by a survey, which was conducted in March by 5thst
69% respondents tagged lung condition as the most frequent cause of death in smokers. Only 27% chose the right answer – cardiovascular conditions. Smoking is the cause of about 15% of all heart and circulatory system complications, which cause 53% fatalities in the Czech Republic.
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Whereas the public does associate these health risks with smoking, others, such as cervical cancer and liver and pancreatic tumors, were mentioned by almost no respondents.
The survey also confirmed the expectations of the students about the public not having good awareness of the composition of cigarette smoke. Most respondents could only name two substances out of over 4,000 chemicals contained in cigarette smoke. Tar and nicotine were mentioned most often.
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These finding are most alarming, as over a half of the random sample of respondents had secondary education and 28% had college or university education. In terms of age, the 20-29 age group was represented most significantly. But even the results among the respondents between 30 and 49 years of age were not above average. In this age group, heart attacks are five times more likely among smokers than non-smokers.
The proportion of smokers and non-smokers in the sample – 48% non-smokers, 19% ex-smokers and 33% smokers corresponded with the The National Institute of Public Health figures for the Czech population – 58% non-smokers, 30% smokers, 12% ex-smokers.
The team was led by Dr. Eva Králíková and the following students participated in the project: Jana Blahová, Pavla Foltová, Markéta Jalůvková, Eva Krejčí, Hana Mrázková, Katarína Pálková, Ivana Sauerová, Barbora Sitárová, Alena Svobodová a Pavel Škrha
Since January 1, 2006, the so-called anti-smoking law is effective in the Czech Republic. The law banned smoking in schools, theatres and cinemas, sports halls, buildings of government institutions, train stations, tram and bus stops and other public spaces. However, the ban does not apply to restaurants. |
Translation: Jaroslav Švelch
