A Survey on Public Reaction to the Establishment of a Smoke-Free Zone in a Hospital Garden

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:The objective of this study was to determine the opinions of individuals who smoke outside the smoke free zone in a university hospital garden about the establishment of these zones and to identify related factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS:The study was conducted at the smoke-free zones around Hacettepe University Sıhhiye Campus Hospitals with 182 participants over 18 years-old. Data was collected through a questionnaire using face to face interview technique in this descriptive study. The official permission was obtained prior to the data collection. SPSS 15.0 predictive analytics software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS:Among 182 participants, 58.8% stated that they continue smoking in public areas during the presence of non-smokers. Eighty three point six percent of the participants who were aware of the health problems associated with smoking found the smoke-free zones in the hospital garden useful. The survey indicated that the awareness of the health problems associated with smoking and the usefulness of the establishment of smoke-free zones in a hospital garden was strongly correlated (p<0.0001). Fifty six point six percent of the participants stated that public areas were suitable for smoking. Smoking in outdoor areas were found harmless by 67.6% of the participants. Ninety six point seven percent of the participants stated that they had known the purpose of a smoke-free zone and 84.6% agreed that these zones were necessary. Ninety seven point four percent of the participants who agreed the necessity of smoke-free zones in the hospital garden, have found these establishments useful (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION:The majority of the participants agreed on the necessity of the smoke-free zones, whereas the awareness of the health risks associated with passive smoking was low. As passive smoking in outdoor areas is risky for health, it is evident that public should be informed about these problems and more effort should be put on establishment of smoke-free zones in open public spaces such as hospital gardens. KEY WORDS: Smoke free outdoor area, passive smoking, hospital INTRODUCTIONSmoking is one of the causes of disease and death among the smokers and among the individuals that are passively affected by the smoke. Passive smoking (PS) is defined as the effect of the combination of the smoke coming from the tip of a lighted cigarette or any other tobacco product and the smoke blown by the person who smokes on another person [1]. Annually, 600.000 people die due to this risk in worldwide [2].Passive smoking has been more commonly addressed since the beginning of 1980s in worldwide. Firstly, in 1981, a Japanese investigator conducted a study on 91.000 housewives and concluded that the risk for lung cancer among women whose husbands were was smoking was higher compared to those with a non-smoker husband [3]. These studies were conducted at varying extents for several years.It is known that PS in indoor areas affects the people of any age, from childhood to adulthood period. Based on some study results, c...