Smoke-free regulations: Study finds crucial role of Government workers

Government workers play important roles in formulating, implementing and enforcing smoke-free regulations, reports a cross-sectional study conducted to assess factors associated with support for smoke-free policies among government workers in six Chinese cities.

The study called 'Factors associated with support for smoke-free policies among government workers in Six Chinese cities: a cross-sectional study' is the first to examine support for smoke-free settings among government workers, an important set of opinion leaders and a large segment of the working population in China.

Data were from an evaluation of the Tobacco Free Cities initiative of Emory University''s Global Health Institute - China Tobacco Control Partnership. As many as 6,646 workers in 160 government agencies in six Chinese cities completed self-administered surveys.

Over 90% felt that smoking should not be permitted in hospitals, elementary and middle schools, colleges, public transportation, religious sites, worksites or restaurants, found the study conducted to examine support for smoke-free settings among government workers from 160 agencies in six Chinese cities. 

Nine settings were examined, including colleges, hotels and religious sites which have not been examined in prior studies.

Levels of support for smoke-free public places typically vary by smoking status, knowledge about the harmfulness of SHS, and demographics. Levels of support also vary by the type of restriction. Knowledge about SHS was associated with increased support.

Data from the 2010 Global Adult Tobacco Survey documented that 52.5% of adult non-smokers were exposed to SHS daily in China and 72.4% were exposed in a typical week.

The study and the important role it assigns to Government workers has a bearing in Kerala where 41.8 per cent and 18.7 per cent of adults were exposed to second-hand smoke at home and in public places respectively, as per GATS. 

Around 92.6% of Kerala’s adults believe that exposure to smoke causes serious illness in non-smokers.