Effect of smoke-free policies on the behaviour of social smokers

Objective-To test the hypothesis that proposed amendments to the Occupation al Safety and Health Act making all enclosed workplaces in Western Australi a smoke free would result in a decrease in cigarette consumption by patrons at nightclubs, pubs, and restaurants without adversely affecting attendanc e. Design-Cross sectional structured interview survey. Participants and setting-Patrons of several inner city pubs and nightclubs in Perth were interviewed while queuing for admission to these venues. Outcome measures-Current social habits, smoking habits, and how these might be affected by the proposed regulations. Persons who did not smoke daily w ere classified as "social smokers." Results-Half (50%) of the 374 patrons interviewed were male, 51% currently did not smoke at all, 34.3% smoked every day, and the remaining 15.7% smoke d, brat not every day. A clear majority (62.5%) of all 374 respondents anti cipated no change to the frequency of their patronage of hospitality venues if smoke-free policies became mandatory One in five (19.3%) indicated that they would,ao out more often, and 18.2% said they would go out less often. Half (52%) of daily smokers anticipated no change to their cigarette consu mption, while 44.5% of daily smokers anticipated a reduction in consumption . A majority of social smokers (54%) predicted a reduction in their cigaret te consumption, with 42% of these anticipating quitting. Conclusions-One in nine (11.5%) of smokers say that adoption of smoke-Pi ee policies would prompt them to quit smoking entirely without a significant decrease in attendance at pubs and nightclubs. There can be few other initi atives as simple, cheap, and popular that would achieve so much for public health.