Mapping the visibility of smokers across a large capital city

BACKGROUND: Smoking visibility may affect smoking norms with implications for tobacco initiation, particularly amongst youths. Understanding how smoking is distributed across urban environments would contribute to the design and implementation of tobacco control policies. Our objective is to estimate the visibility of smokers in a large urban area using a novel GIS-based methodological approach. METHODS: We used systematic social observation to gather information about the presence of smokers in the environment within a representative sample of census tracts in Madrid city in 2016. We designed a GIS-based methodology to estimate the visibility of smokers throughout the whole city using the data collected in the fieldwork. Last, we validated our results in a sample of 40 locations distributed across the city through direct observation. RESULTS: We mapped estimates of smokers’ visibility across the entire city. The visibility was higher in the central districts and in streets with a high density of hospitality venues, public transportation stops, and retail shops. Peripheral districts, with larger green areas and residential or industrial land uses, showed lower visibility of smokers. Validation analyses found high agreement between the estimated and observed values of smokers’ visibility (R=0.845, p=<0.001). DISCUSSION: GIS-based methods enable the development of novel tools to study the distribution of smokers and their visibility in urban environments. We found differences in the visibility by population density and leisure, retail shops and business activities. The findings can support the development of policies to protect people from smoking

GREAT LAKES—ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASIN SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES AGREEMENT

1. The objectives of this Agreement are: a. To act together to protect, conserve and restore the Waters of the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence River Basin because current lack of scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to protect the Basin Ecosystem; b. To facilitate collaborative approaches to Water management across the Basin to protect, conserve, restore, improve and efficiently and effectively manage the Waters and Water Dependent Natural Resources of the Basin; c. To promote co-operation among the Parties by providing common and regional mechanisms to evaluate Proposals to Withdraw Water; d. To create a co-operative arrangement regarding Water management that provides tools for shared future challenges; e. To retain State and Provincial authority within the Basin under appropriate arrangements for intergovernmental cooperation and consultation; f. To facilitate the exchange of data, strengthen the scientific information upon which decisions are made, and engage in consultation on the potential effects of Withdrawals and losses on the Waters and Water Dependent Natural Resources of the Basin; g. To prevent significant adverse impacts of Withdrawals and losses on the Basin Ecosystem and its watersheds; and, h. To promote an Adaptive Management approach to the conservation and management of Basin Water resources, which recognizes, considers and provides adjustments for the uncertainties in, and evolution of, scientific knowledge concerning the Basin’s Waters and Water Dependent Natural Resources