Background We assessed the impact of a smoking ban in hospitality venues in the Seychelles 9 months after legislation was implemented.

Methods Survey officers observed compliance with the smoking ban in 38 most popular hospitality venues and administered a structured questionnaire to two customers, two workers and one manager in each venue.

Results Virtually no customers or workers were seen smoking in the indoor premises. Patrons, workers and managers largely supported the ban. The personnel of the hospitality venues reported that most smokers had no difficulty refraining from smoking. However, a third of workers did not systematically request customers to stop smoking and half of them did not report adequate training. Workers reported improved health. No substantial change in the number of customers was noted.

Conclusion A ban on public smoking was generally well implemented in hospitality venues but some less than optimal findings suggest the need for adequate training of workers and strengthened enforcement measures. The simple and inexpensive methodology used in this rapid survey may be a useful approach to evaluate the implementation and impact of clean air policy in low and middle-income countries.