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A mandatory smoking ban in restaurants: Concerns versus experiences

Journal of Community Health volume 21, pages 133–150 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

The purpose of this study was (a) to assess the concerns of restaurant representatives about a city ordinance that prohibited smoking in all restaurants prior to its enactment and (b) to determine if these concerns were realized 15 months after the ordinance had been in effect. Representatives from 34 randomly selected restaurants participated in both the pre- and post-interviews. Although 26.5 percent of the respondents were concerned that the ordinance would be difficult to enforce, 94 percent found the ordinance easy or very easy to enforce. While some customers appeared to have negative reactions to an ordinance that prohibited smoking, four times that many appeared to have positive reactions to the ordinance. Although approximately 12 percent of the respondents indicated that the ordinance had “a slightly negative effect on employees,” the majority (88.2%) felt that the ordinance had either no effect or a positive effect on employees. Most respondents believed that the ordinance would have no effect on their business and most reported that the ordinance had no or no known effect on business. Although many restaurant representatives had concerns about a non-smoking ordinance prior to its enactment, restaurant representatives' self-reported experience with the ordinance suggests that most of these concerns were not realized.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor of Health Education and Promotion, Dept. of HPEN, Northern Arizona University, Box 15095, 86011, Flagstaff, AZ

    John P. Sciacca PhD, MPH, CHES

Authors
  1. John P. Sciacca PhD, MPH, CHES
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Additional information

This study was supported by the Center for Prevention and Health Promotion, Arizona Department of Health Services. The author acknowledges Lori Rawlins for her assistance in collecting and collating the data. David Dube, MPH and Marty Eckrem, MPH of the Coconino County Department of Public Health and John Meyers, PhD, Director of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University are thanked for their assistance in developing the questionnaires and designing the study.

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Sciacca, J.P. A mandatory smoking ban in restaurants: Concerns versus experiences. J Community Health 21, 133–150 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01682304

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01682304

Keywords

  • Public Health
  • Health Promotion
  • Disease Prevention
  • Positive Reaction
  • Negative Reaction