Introducing Carpet Smoking Ban to Protect Public Health

It has become a global consensus that smoking is a health hazard and tobacco control can effectively improve human health. At present, smoking rate in Shanghai is still high and secondhand smoke exposure is serious. Based on population attributable health effect evaluation method, disease specific relative risks due to smoke exposure from the Global Burden of Disease Study, birth data, death data, and smoking rates from Shanghai Non-communicable Diseases and Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System are used to quantify health damage attributable to smoke exposure. There are about 20000 deaths attributable to diseases caused by smoking and secondhand smoke exposure every year. Labor loss per year amounts to more than 44000 person. In order to protect residents' health, anti-smoking should be promoted to improve public health capacity in Shanghai.