Whats new in Nicotine & Tobacco Research?
Many countries now restrict smoking in outdoor settings, from restaurant patios to parks and stadiums. Because these may represent the next frontier in smoke-free environments, Thomson et al. (p. 584) reviewed 16 surveys to measure public attitudes toward such policies in developed, English-speaking countries. • Support was highest for bans in places frequented by children, as high as 91% in California and British surveys. • Support increased over time: by 2006, 80% supported smoke-free sports stadiums in Australia. • Even a majority of smokers supported outdoor smoke-free laws in five surveys. • How and by whom questions were asked affected answers, however. One example: A New Zealand survey for the tobacco industry asked if smoking at outdoor sports events should be left “to the common sense of the people concerned.” No surprise: 33% said yes; another 38% preferred “no restriction at all.” Tipping the scale in the opposite direction was a survey . . .
