Associations between tobacco control policy awareness, social acceptability of smoking and smoking cessation. Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Europe Surveys

This study examined whether awareness of tobacco control policies was associated with social unacceptability of smoking and whether social unacceptability had an effect on smoking cessation in three European countries. Representative samples (n = 3865) of adult smokers in France, the Netherlands and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Health education research Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 72 - 82
Main Authors:	RENNEN, E, NAGELHOUT, G.E, VAN DEN PUTTE, B, JANSSEN, E, MONS, U, GUIGNARD, R, BECK, F, DE VRIES, H, THRASHER, J.F, WILLEMSEN, M.C
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Oxford University Press 01-02-2014
Subjects:	Acceptability Adolescent Adult Awareness Biological and medical sciences Campaigns Cessation Europe France Germany Health Education - organization & administration Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Health Policy Humans Medical sciences Middle Aged Miscellaneous Original Public health. Hygiene Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine Smoking Smoking - adverse effects Smoking - legislation & jurisprudence Smoking - psychology Smoking Cessation - psychology Social Change Social Environment Social Marketing Socioeconomic Factors Tobacco Smoke Pollution - adverse effects Young Adult Netherlands France Europe Germany Consumption Social norm Sanitary program Poison withdrawal Weaning Tobacco smoking Survey Tobacco Health policy Mass campaign Quality Passive smoking Public information
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Summary:	This study examined whether awareness of tobacco control policies was associated with social unacceptability of smoking and whether social unacceptability had an effect on smoking cessation in three European countries. Representative samples (n = 3865) of adult smokers in France, the Netherlands and Germany were used from two survey waves of the longitudinal International Tobacco Control Europe Surveys. Associations were examined of aspects of social unacceptability of smoking (i.e. feeling uncomfortable, important people disapproval and societal disapproval) with tobacco policy awareness (i.e. awareness of warning labels, anti-tobacco information and smoking restrictions at work) and smoking cessation. Only the positive association of awareness of anti-tobacco information with feeling uncomfortable about smoking was significant in each of the three countries. Important people disapproval predicted whether smokers attempted to quit, although this did not reach significance in the French and German samples in multivariate analyses. Our findings suggest that anti-tobacco information campaigns about the dangers of second-hand smoke in France and about smoking cessation in the Netherlands and Germany might have reduced the social acceptability of smoking in these countries. However, campaigns that influence the perceived disapproval of smoking by important people may be needed to ultimately increase attempts to quit smoking.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0268-1153 1465-3648
DOI:	10.1093/her/cyt073