Reductions in tobacco smoke pollution and increases in support for smoke-free public places following the implementation of comprehensive smoke-free workplace legislation in the Republic of Ireland: findings from the ITC Ireland/UK Survey

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the psychosocial and behavioural impact of the first ever national level comprehensive workplace smoke-free law, implemented in Ireland in March 2004. Design: Quasi-experimental prospective cohort survey: parallel cohort telephone surveys of national representative samples of adult smokers in Ireland (n = 769) and the UK (n = 416), surveyed before the law (December 2003 to January 2004) and 8-9 months after the law (December 2004 to January 2005). Main outcome measures: Respondents' reports of smoking in key public venues, support for total bans in those key venues, and behavioural changes due to the law. Results: The Irish law led to dramatic declines in reported smoking in all venues, including workplaces (62% to 14%), restaurants (85% to 3%), and bars/pubs (98% to 5%). Support for total bans among Irish smokers increased in all venues, including workplaces (43% to 67%), restaurants (45% to 77%), and bars/pubs (13% to 46%). Overall, 83% of Irish smokers reported that the smoke-free law was a "good" or "very good" thing. The proportion of Irish homes with smoking bans also increased. Approximately 46% of Irish smokers reported that the law had made them more likely to quit. Among Irish smokers who had quit at post-legislation, 80% reported that the law had helped them quit and 88% reported that the law helped them stay quit. Conclusion: The Ireland smoke-free law stands as a positive example of how a population-level policy intervention can achieve its public health goals while achieving a high level of acceptance among smokers. These findings support initiatives in many countries toward implementing smoke-free legislation, particularly those who have ratified the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which calls for legislation to reduce tobacco smoke pollution

Smoke-Free Laws in Bars and Restaurants: Does Support among Teens and Young Adults Change after a Statewide Smoke-Free Law?

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Evaluation of Tobacco Control Law at Cafe’ and Restaurants

“…This result shows that people do not exactly obey the legal regulations in the places where smoking is forbidden. In order to increase the obedience of the law, Provincial Councils for Tobacco Control and inspection teams should increase the frequency of their controls (7,8,13,14).…”

Smoking outside: the effect of the Irish workplace smoking ban on smoking prevalence among the employed

“…Although most of the research on smoking bans finds some significant effect of the bans, there is also a body of literature that suggests that smoking bans have no effect on health outcomes or on general smoking prevalence. Fong et al (2006) carry out an interesting study on the psychosocial and behavioural impact of the smoking ban in Ireland. Using a telephone survey of 1,679 adult smokers in Ireland and the UK (65 per cent in Ireland) before and after the Irish ban, they survey respondents on smoking, quitting and socialising in bars and restaurants.…”