Effect of media campaigns and smoke-free ordinance on public awareness and secondhand smoke exposure in Taiwan.

This study evaluated the effect of Taiwan's smoke-free ordinance and media campaigns on public awareness and secondhand smoke exposure. The authors conducted 3 waves of research--in July 2008 (before media campaigns), in December 2008 (during media campaigns), and in March 2009 (3 months after implementation of the smoke-free law). National representative samples of 1074, 1084, and 1094 people, respectively, were interviewed successfully by telephone in the 3 surveys. The results showed that general awareness of smoke-free workplace legislation rose dramatically from 28.5% in July 2008 to 87.6% in December 2008 to 93.6% in March 2009. Exposure to secondhand smoke in the workplace fell from 28.5% in July 2008 to 24.9% in December 2008 to 7.3% in March 2009, and household secondhand smoke exposure decreased from 36.8% to 34.3% to 21.3%, respectively, during the same period. Multivariate analyses results indicated that media campaigns, smoke-free ordinance implementation, having higher education, and having higher income were associated with more awareness of the smoke-free workplace legislation. In addition, smoke-free ordinance implementation, being female, having higher education, and having higher income were associated with less likelihood of reporting secondhand smoke exposure in the workplace. In conclusion, smoke-free ordinance implementation and media campaigns were effective in raising public awareness of the new law and reducing secondhand smoke exposure in workplaces, in public places, and at home.

The impact of graphic cigarette warning labels and smoke-free law on health awareness and thoughts of quitting in Taiwan.

The present study evaluated the impact of Taiwan's graphic cigarette warning labels and smoke-free law on awareness of the health hazards of smoking and thoughts of quitting smoking. National representative samples of 1074 and 1094 people, respectively, were conducted successfully by telephone in July 2008 (pre-law) and March 2009 (post-law). Results reveal that the prevalence of thinking about the health hazards of smoking among smokers increased from 50.6% pre-law to 79.6% post-law, while the prevalence among non-smokers increased from 68.8 to 94.1% during the same period. The prevalence rates of smokers who reported thinking of quitting rose from 30.2% pre-law to 51.7% post-law. Multivariate analyses results indicated that the implementation of graphic warning labels and the smoke-free law significantly increased the odds of awareness about the health hazards of smoking [odds ratio (OR) = 6.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.84-8.44] and thoughts of quitting smoking (OR = 2.39, 95% CI = 1.48-3.87). In conclusion, the implementation of a smoke-free law in combination with graphic cigarette warning labels has been effective in increasing thoughts about the health hazards of smoking and quitting smoking.