Support for smoke-free policy among restaurant owners and managers in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Abstract

Objectives:Exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS) is widespread in restaurants in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. While a smoke-free policy is the most effective way of protecting restaurant workers and customers from SHS, this has not been well accepted in Mongolia. Furthermore, little is known about restaurants’ attitude toward the smoke-free policy.Methods:A cross-sectional survey directed to restaurant owners or managers was conducted in 475 representative restaurants in Ulaanbaatar. Face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire and on-site observation were performed.Results:Only 29.3% of the restaurants claimed to prohibit smoking; none of the remaining had any protection toward SHS, and half of the restaurants estimated that more than 20% of customers would smoke inside. None of them had visible “no smoking” signs and the majority never received complaints about SHS. Despite the generally high level of knowledge of the health effects of SHS, of the 336 restaurants that were not smoke free, only 25.9% expressed that they planned to take action in the near future. By contrast, 87.8% of restaurants would support the government if it asked all restaurants to ban smoking. Multivariate analysis identified that restaurants having menus in foreign languages, selling cigarettes and predicting business decline were less likely to support the government smoke-free policy.Conclusions:This survey demonstrates that restaurants owners and managers were reluctant to take action on their own, but would support government policy. The government can assume a stronger role first by revising the law on tobacco control following the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control guideline.

An Assessment of Level of Compliance with Smoke-Free Provision of the Tobacco Control Act 2007 in Licensed Liquor Establishments in Nakuru County, Kenya

“…SFE Provisions in the Act that strengthens compliance include the display of "no smoking" signs, making sure they are written in a language which people can understand, in this case, English and Swahili as well as making sure they are visible to the public. Level of awareness by the owners and/or managers of licensed liquor business establishments about the content of TCA, 2007 and health effects of SHS enhance their understanding and action to ensure compliance with SFE provisions of TCA, 2007 within their respective business establishments [30]. These factors influence the level of compliance with provisions to the TCA, 2007.…”

Impact of Seasonal Winter Air Pollution on Health across the Lifespan in Mongolia and Some Putative Solutions

“…However, other causes, such as secondhand smoke, may also be important. Three years ago, indoor smoking was banned in Mongolia, and this has resulted in clearly observable much cleaner air in restaurants and public spaces (13). Also, men tell us that they are now more likely to smoke outside their homes and not in front of their spouse and family, even when it is very cold outside (personal observation).…”

Support and Practice of Smoke-Free Eating Places in Sarawak, Malaysia: A Structural Path Analysis

“…This could be explained in several ways with one of them is that the offenders thought that protecting people from harmful exposure to SHS was an issue that the government has to tackle, or they were unaware of the punishments for breaking the Tobacco Control Act laws. It is also likely that they did not give serious thought to the potential legal ramifications of violating the smoke-free rule until they showed some kind of support (13). Another explanation may be the owner or management are concerned about the potential decline in their businesses (14,15).…”