Tobacco and the health of the portuguese elderly: Where to look?

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Tobacco consumption is seen as a public health issue in many countries, leading to policies aimed at consumption cessation and to prevent the start of a regular smoking habit in the young. We assess the association between smoking habits and health status in a sample of Portuguese population with 50 years and above, from the SHARE – Survey of Health, Age and Retirement in Europe wave 4. Using a physical measure of health, respiratory peak flow, as well as the more standard measures of medical-doctor-diagnosed respiratory problems and self-assessed health, we show that tobacco consumption has an important negative impact in the health of the elderly, which is not captured by self-assessed health. From a policy perspective, this advises to the routine collection of physical measures of health to have effective knowledge about the health of the population and appropriate design in interventions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)113-128
Number of pages16
JournalHygiea Internationalis
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Keywords

  • Health
  • Portugal
  • Tobacco

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