[Prevalence of smoking among women in reproductive age in Puerto Rico]. / Prevalencia del hábito de fumar en mujeres de edad fértil de Puerto Rico.

The prevalence of smoking in Puerto Rican women was estimated on the basis of data from 3,157 women 15 to 49 years of age who had been surveyed in the 1982 Evaluation of Fertility and Family Planning in Puerto Rico. The weighted prevalence was 15.5%, with a 95% confidence interval of 13.8 to 17.1. The prevalence varied by age group, education, marital status, place of residence at age 15, and consumption of alcohol. The prevalence of smoking increased in successive birth cohorts while the mean age at initiation of the habit tended to decline. The data suggest that in Puerto Rico smoking is on the rise among younger women.