| Summary: | The study aims to explore the patterns and changes of active and passive smoking in the elderly population.Two cross-sectional surveys with representative samples of urban populations, aged between 60 and 95 years old, were conducted in 2001 and 2010 in Beijing. A current smoker was defined as a person who smoked a tobacco product at the time of the survey, and a passive smoker was defined as a person who had been exposed to smoke exhaled by a smoker for more than 15 minutes per day more than once per week.A total of 2,277 participants in 2001 and 2,102 participants in 2010 completed the survey. The current smoking prevalence changed slightly in males (24.7 vs. 21.2%, P = 0.081), while the prevalence in females decreased significantly from 8.8% (95% CI: 7.3-10.3%) in 2001 to 4.1% (95% CI: 3.0-5.2%) in 2010 (P<0.001). The prevalence of passive smoking was 30.5% (95% CI: 28.6-32.4%) in 2001 and 30.0% (95% CI: 28.1-32.0%) in 2010. The main source of secondhand smoke switched from a spouse in 2001 to offspring in 2010. This trend was observed in both sexes. Passive smoking in males from a smoking spouse decreased from 5.7% to 2.4% (P<0.001), while that from smoking offspring increased from 7.3 to 14.5% (P<0.001). Passive smoking in females from a spouse decreased from 30.6 to 17.6%, while that from offspring increased from 5.3 to 15.4% (P<0.001).Offspring became the main source of secondhand smoke for the elderly. Our findings demonstrated the importance of implementing smoking prevention programs, to educate older adults who live with a smoking spouse and/or offspring.
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