Compliance and enforcement of a partial smoking ban in Lisbon taxis: an exploratory cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health

Jose M Calheiros²  Pedro Aguiar³  Miguel Castelo-Branco¹  Sofia B Ravara⁴ 

[1]Health Sciences Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Av. Infante D. Henrique, 6200-506 Covilhã, Portugal

[2]National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Av. Padre Cruz, 1649-016, Lisbon, Portugal

[3]National School of Public Health, New University of Lisbon, Av. Padre Cruz, 1600-560, Lisbon, Portugal

[4]National Institute of Preventive Cardiology Professor F. Pádua, R. Doutor Nicolau Bettencourt 45, 1050-078 Lisbon, Portugal

关键词: Smoke-free cars;    Taxi;    Enforcement;    Compliance;    Smoke-free policy;    Smoking partial ban;    Second-hand smoke;    Tobacco control;   

Others  :  1162545
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-13-134

 received in 2012-06-27, accepted in 2013-02-11,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Research evaluating enforcement and compliance with smoking partial bans is rather scarce, especially in countries with relative weak tobacco control policies, such as Portugal. There is also scarce evidence on specific high risk groups such as vehicle workers. In January 2008, Portugal implemented a partial ban, followed by poor enforcement. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a partial smoking ban in a pro-smoking environment, specifically transportation by taxi in the city of Lisbon. Ban effectiveness was generally defined by ban awareness and support, compliance and enforcement.

Methods

Exploratory cross-sectional study; purposive sampling in selected Lisbon streets. Structured interviews were conducted by trained researchers while using taxi services (January 2009-December 2010). Participants: 250 taxi drivers (98.8% participation rate). Chi-square, McNemar, Man Whitney tests and multiple logistic regression were performed.

Results

Of the participants, 249 were male; median age was 53.0 years; 43.6% were current smokers. Most participants (82.8%) approved comprehensive bans; 84.8% reported that clients still asked to smoke in their taxis; 16.8% allowed clients to smoke. Prior to the ban this value was 76.9% (p < 0.001). The major reason for not allowing smoking was the legal ban and associated fines (71.2%). Of the smokers, 66.1% admitted smoking in their taxi. Stale smoke smells were detected in 37.6% of the cars. None of the taxi drivers did ever receive a fine for non-compliance. Heavy smoking, night-shift and allowing smoking prior the ban predicted non-compliance.

Conclusions

Despite the strong ban support observed, high smoking prevalence and poor enforcement contribute to low compliance. The findings also suggest low compliance among night-shift and vehicle workers. This study clearly demonstrates that a partial and poorly-enforced ban is vulnerable to breaches, and highlights the need for clear and strong policies.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Ravara et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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