Objective.
Estimate tobacco use in adults in 2015 and observance of the provisions of the General Law for the Control of Tobacco and its Harmful Effects on Health and its regulations.
Methods.
A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) in homes, with national representation based on a three-stage probabilistic sample by sex and area of residence.
Results.
Visits were made to 9 632 homes where 8 607 individual interviews were conducted; the response rate was 89%. Current smokers were 8.9% (95% CI: 8.1-9.8). Prevalence in men was 13.4% (12.0-15.0), and in women, 4.4% (3.7-5.2); in urban areas, 9.6% (8.5-10.7), in rural areas, 7.1% (6.2-8.2); and mean age of smoking initiation and mean number of cigarettes smoked per day, 16.1 years (15.6-16.6) and 13.4 (12.2-14.7), respectively. Prevalence was highest in the group aged 45 to 64 years: 10.4% (9.0-12.0); 47.5% of interviewees had never heard of electronic cigarettes; and 6.3% had been exposed to tobacco smoke in the workplace and 7.9% in restaurants.
Conclusions.
This survey yielded policy and health information relevant to surveillance, health care, and
enforcement of Costa Rica’s antismoking legislation. Greater effort is needed to ensure that all obligations under Law 9028 are met, and that the results will remain in place until the second GATS in 2020.