Abstract
Background"Smoke-Free" legislation prohibiting smoking in all enclosed public places was introduced in March 2006. This qualitative study presents insights from bar workers about their observations of the changing social bar environment, changing patrons' behaviours and challenges bar workers have faced in managing smoke-free legislation.MethodsTwelve in-depth interviews were conducted between November 2006 and January 2007 with a purposively-selected sample of bar workers, identified from a larger quantitative study evaluating the impact of the legislation in Scotland [the Bar Workers' Health and Environmental Tobacco Smoke Exposure project (BHETSE)].ResultsBar workers all spoke of the improvements the legislation had brought to their working lives and the greater comfort it appeared to offer patrons. Bar workers reported that patrons were generally quick to accept and comply with the new law, and that families had become a greater feature of pub life since the legislation. However, they expressed concerns that older men seemed to have had most difficulty adjusting to the legislation and lack of knowledge about the best practices they should adopt in order to reduce the risks of unattended drinks being spiked and of anti-social behaviour associated with patrons moving outside to smoke.ConclusionSmoke-free legislation is changing the social context of smoking in Scotland. Further research to assess the impact the legislation is having on older male smokers and on the incidence of drink spiking would be useful. More specifically, bar workers would benefit from guidance on how to manage issues arising from patrons moving outside to smoke.
Highlights
Increasing evidence of the health risks posed by secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] has been followed in recent years by the enactment of legislation designed to ensure workplaces and other public spaces are smoke-free
Before the ban two bar workers mentioned concerns about how readily patrons would comply with the ban, but again when they were interviewed after the ban they did not focus on this issue because in their expe
Key findings that focused on the change in smoking behaviours were that whilst the ban was largely welcomed by staff key complaints were raised about non smokers having to run 'the smoking gauntlet' on their way in and from work as smokers congregated around doorway entrances to smoke
Summary
Increasing evidence of the health risks posed by secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure [1,2,3,4,5,6,7] has been followed in recent years by the enactment of legislation designed to ensure workplaces and other public spaces are smoke-free. Its implementation was primarily a health and safety measure aimed at reducing the harmful effects of SHS to workers, those in the hospitality sector who have been shown to be exposed to high levels of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in their workplace [5,8,9,10,11]. In countries where policies to restrict or prohibit smoking have been implemented, hospitality workers have been shown to benefit, female bar workers from low socioecomonic status [12]. Studies which report on how smoking behaviours have changed since smoking restrictions suggest that smoke-free public places may reduce smoking among young people [20] and support smoking cessation in social venues such as pubs where there are increased cues to smoke [21] and where relapse is common [22,23]
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