Opinions on the Recent No-Smoking Policy in Daejeon Metropolitan City: a Focus on the Differences of Opinions Between Smokers and Non-Smokers

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The anti-smoking policy in Korea has been recently focusing on reducing the harmful effects of tobacco smoke pollution by establishing smoking bans or restrictions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in opinions between smokers and non-smokers regarding this current policy. METHODS: A telephone survey was conducted by Gallup Korea involving 1,200 adult residents (older than 19 years) of the Daejeon Metropolitan Area. The number of respondents included in the assessment was 1,013 people (sampling error +/-3.1% in 95% confidence interval). The questionnaire consisted of 4 main categories-general characteristics, knowledge and attitude of tobacco smoke pollution, agreement on non-smoking area designation of 9 public facilities, and opinions for imposing smoking fines. We conducted the Pearson's chi-square test to identify the different opinions between smokers and non-smokers. All statistical assessments were performed using the SPSS 18.0K. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in the level of knowledge regarding the risks of tobacco smoke pollution between the two groups. However, smokers (79.0%) were less likely to recognize the seriousness of tobacco smoke pollution than non-smokers (94.7%) (P<0.001). In regard to their opinions for designating outdoor non-smoking areas, both groups agreed that designating non-smoking zones for children is the most important. Lastly, regarding the imposing of smoking fines, smokers were less supportive (58.3%) of the policy than non-smokers (92.2%) (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of our survey, establishing non-smoking zones for children is the top priority of all non-smoking public areas, followed by restaurants, bus stops, and parks. For a successful non-smoking policy in public facilities, the cooperation and participation of smokers is required. Therefore, we should make every effort to educate smokers focusing on public relations to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco smoke pollution.