HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Fong, G T Articles by Driezen, P Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Fong, G T Articles by Driezen, P Related Collections Smoking Health effects of tobacco use Smoking cessation Environmental tobacco smoke

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

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
² Department of Health Behavior, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, USA
³ Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
⁴ Cancer Control Research Institute, The Cancer Council Victoria, Carlton, Victoria, Australia
⁵ Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research, University of Stirling and the Open University, Stirling, UK
⁶ University College London, London, UK
⁷ Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Trinity College Centre for Health Sciences, Adelaide & Meath Hospital incorporating the National Children’s Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
⁸ Environmental Health Department, Health Service Executive, Western Area, The Annex, Seamus Quirke Road, Galway, Republic of Ireland
⁹ National Population Health Directorate-HSE, Department of Public Health, Railway Street, Navan, County Meath, Republic of Ireland
¹⁰ Research Institute for a Tobacco-Free Society, The Digital Depot, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
¹¹ Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
¹² Tobacco Control Research and Training Program, Harvard School of Public Health, Division of Public Health Practice, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
¹³ International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project, Population Health Research Group, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Correspondence to:
Geoffrey T Fong
PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 Canada; gfong{at}uwaterloo.ca

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.

Abbreviations: CATI, computer assisted telephone interviewing; FCTC, Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; GEE, generalised estimating equation; ITC-4, International Tobacco Control Four Country Survey; TSP, tobacco smoke pollution

Keywords: Framework Convention on Tobacco Control; FCTC; tobacco smoke pollution; environmental tobacco smoke; secondhand smoke; smoke-free laws; tobacco control policy; policy evaluation

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. F. Thrasher, L. M. Reynales-Shigematsu, L. Baezconde-Garbanati, V. Villalobos, P. Tellez-Giron, E. Arillo-Santillan, A. Dorantes-Alonso, R. Valdes-Salgado, and E. Lazcano-Ponce Promoting the Effective Translation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: A Case Study of Challenges and Opportunities for Strategic Communications in Mexico Eval Health Prof, June 1, 2008; 31(2): 145 - 166. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. K. Rayens, E. J. Hahn, R. E. Langley, S. Hedgecock, K. M. Butler, and L. Greathouse-Maggio Public Opinion and Smoke-Free Laws Policy Politics Nursing Practice, November 1, 2007; 8(4): 262 - 270. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Eriksen and F. Chaloupka The Economic Impact of Clean Indoor Air Laws CA Cancer J Clin, November 1, 2007; 57(6): 367 - 378. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. L. Hamilton, L. Biener, and R. T. Brennan Do local tobacco regulations influence perceived smoking norms? Evidence from adult and youth surveys in Massachusetts Health Educ. Res., October 18, 2007; (2007) cym054v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Phillips, A. Amos, D. Ritchie, S. Cunningham-Burley, and C. Martin Smoking in the home after the smoke-free legislation in Scotland: qualitative study BMJ, September 15, 2007; 335(7619): 553 - 553. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. Godfrey Hold the Front Page: Smoking Bans Good for (Most) Workers' Health Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., April 15, 2007; 175(8): 751 - 753. [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. K. Koh, L. X. Joossens, and G. N. Connolly Making Smoking History Worldwide N. Engl. J. Med., April 12, 2007; 356(15): 1496 - 1498. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. D. Eisner Banning smoking in public places: time to clear the air. JAMA, October 11, 2006; 296(14): 1778 - 1779. [Full Text] [PDF]

				G T Fong, K M Cummings, D R Shopland, and for the ITC Collaboration Building the evidence base for effective tobacco control policies: the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project) Tob. Control, June 1, 2006; 15(suppl_3): iii1 - iii2. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G T Fong, K M Cummings, R Borland, G Hastings, A Hyland, G A Giovino, D Hammond, and M E Thompson The conceptual framework of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project Tob. Control, June 1, 2006; 15(suppl_3): iii3 - iii11. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M E Thompson, G T Fong, D Hammond, C Boudreau, P Driezen, A Hyland, R Borland, K M Cummings, G B Hastings, M Siahpush, et al. Methods of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey Tob. Control, June 1, 2006; 15(suppl_3): iii12 - iii18. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]