Smoking ban policies and their influence on smoking behaviors among current California smokers: A population-based study

• Published in: Preventive medicine 2014-02, Vol.59, p.73-78
• Main Authors: Zablocki, Rong W, Edland, Steven D, Myers, Mark G, Strong, David R, Hofstetter, C. Richard, Al-Delaimy, Wael K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Air Pollution, Indoor - legislation & jurisprudence; Air Pollution, Indoor - prevention & control; Bans; Biological and medical sciences; California - epidemiology; Cessation; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Behavior - ethnology; Health policy; Humans; Internal Medicine; Interviews as Topic; Logistic Models; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Nonsmokers; Odds Ratio; Passive smoking; Population Surveillance; Prevention and actions; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Quitting; Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data; Smoking; Smoking - epidemiology; Smoking - psychology; Smoking Cessation - legislation & jurisprudence; Socioeconomic Factors; Survey sampling; Telephones; Tobacco Smoke Pollution - prevention & control; Tobacco smoking ban; Tobacco, tobacco smoking; Toxicology; Workplace - classification; Workplace - psychology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0091-7435; 1096-0260
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2013.11.018

Abstract Objective To assess whether smoking ban policies are associated with smoking reduction and quit attempts among California smokers. Methods Data were examined for 1718 current smokers from follow-up telephone interviews conducted in 2011 of persons previously identified as smokers in a representative sample of the adult population of California. Population weighted logistic regressions controlling for demographic and other variables were used to evaluate the association between smoking ban policies (home, work, and town) and changes in tobacco use (past year quit attempt or reduction in smoking rate). Results Living in a home with a total ban was significantly associated with smoking reduction (adjusted odds ratio, AOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.4–4.2) and making a quit attempt (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.3–3.9) compared to living in a home with no home ban. Self-reported perception of an outdoor ban in one's city/town was associated with smoking reduction (AOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.02–2.7) and making a quit attempt (AOR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.05–2.9). Conclusion These results indicate that smoking bans not only protect nonsmokers from the harms of secondhand smoke, but are also associated with smoking reduction and cessation.