The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: In December 2004 New Zealand legislation banning smoking in all indoor workplaces came into force. Previous legislation covered mainly office workplaces and non-office settings (e.g. hospitality venues) had been largely excluded. A study was undertaken which aimed to assess whether total smoking bans were associated with decreased SHS exposure, increased public support for smoking bans and changes in smoking behaviours and patronage in hospitality settings.

Methods: Data for the study was drawn from three telephone surveys carried out in early 2003, 2004, and 2005. Each survey consisted of a general population sample of 1500 and additional over-samples of priority sub-groups ranging in size from 300 to 900. Confidence intervals and statistical tests were used to identify any significant differences between variables of interest.

Results: Findings suggest that exposure to SHS in indoor workplaces reduced markedly following implementation of smoking bans. Support for smoking bans increased over the survey period with high support for smoking bans in hospitality settings and rights to live and work in environments free of SHS.

Few changes in patronage at nightclubs, bars, casinos, and cafes were observed between 2003 and 2005. A noticeable exception was an apparent increase in non-smoker patronage of bars and cafes. Socially cued smoking in nightclubs, bars, casinos, and cafes was observed to decrease markedly between 2003 and 2005.

Findings from this study support the effectiveness of workplace smoking bans in reducing SHS exposure and promoting decreases in tobacco use.