Public support for smoking bans in public places in Australia: trends and socio-demographic variations

Abstract

Issues addressed: We report Australian trends in support for smoking bans in public places from 1993-98 and examine the extent to which support varied by sociodemographic groups, smoking restrictions at work/school and smoking status in 1998. Methods: We used data from the 1993 National Campaign Against Drug Abuse survey, and the 1995 and 1998 National Drug Strategy household surveys. All surveys employed a multistage stratified design and targeted persons aged 14+ years. The method of data collection for the 1993 and 1995 surveys was personal interviews. The 1998 survey used interviews and self administered questionnaires. Results: Support for smoking bans in the workplace remained high (about 80%) and did not change significantly between 1993 and 1998. In this time, there was a significant increase in the public support for bans in shopping centres (from 70.5% to 82.6%), restaurants (from 73.3% to 77.1%) and pubs/clubs (from 41.6% to 49.9%). In 1998, support for bans was higher among older respondents and those in higher socioeconomic positions. Urban dwellers reported more support for bans than their rural counterparts. Support for bans was greater for respondents who experienced some smoking restrictions. Conclusions: National trends show a significant increase in favourable attitudes towards bans in most enclosed public places. So what?: Campaigns aimed at enhancing support for bans should target rural dwellers, younger people and lower SES groups. (author abstract)