Customers’ Perceptions of Compliance with a Tobacco Control Law in Restaurants in Hanoi, Vietnam: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The Tobacco Harm Prevention Law has been promulgated in 2012 in Vietnam, prohibiting smoking in public places such as restaurants except for designated smoking areas. However, currently, evidence about Vietnamese customers’ and restaurants’ compliance with the Law is constrained. This study aimed to explore customers’ perceptions; attitudes and practices towards the compliance with tobacco control regulations in the restaurants in Hanoi, Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was performed in October 2015 with 1746 customers in 176 communes in Hanoi, Vietnam. Data about customers’ perceptions on how restaurants comply with the smoking control law and whether customers smoking actively or experienced SHS in restaurants in the last 30 days were collected. Multivariable mixed effects logistic regression model was used to determine the factors related to smoking in the restaurant. Most customers were aware of the law on Tobacco Harm Prevention (79%; n = 1320) and regulations that prohibited smoking in restaurants (78.4%; n = 1137). While 75.8% (n = 1285) of customers perceived that they did not see or rarely saw no-smoking signs, 17.7% (n = 481) of customers reported that they frequently saw direct marketing of tobacco in visited restaurants. About one-fourth of customers witnessed that the staff reminded customers not to smoke inside restaurants (28.8%; n = 313), and 65% (n = 1135) sometimes or always were exposed to secondhand smoke in their visited restaurants. People who were female (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.05) were less likely to report their smoking in the restaurant than their counterparts. Those having higher age (OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 1.01–1.06), high school education (OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.07–4.26), being office workers (OR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.33–7.92) or unemployed (OR = 4.45; 95% CI = 1.09–18.15) had a higher likelihood of reporting to be restaurant smokers than those having lower high education or students, respectively. This study highlighted a low level of perceived compliance with the smoke-free law in Vietnamese restaurants. Improving the monitoring systems for the enforcement of the smoking law in restaurants should be prioritized; restaurant owners should implement 100% smoke-free environments as following the best practice towards the tobacco control law along with educational campaigns to promote the awareness of restaurant owners and customers about the tobacco control law.

Second-Hand Smoking Prevalence in Vietnamese Population Aged 15 and older: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The remaining 16 full-text publications were evaluated for eligibility and only 7 of these met the eligible research were satisfactory. 12 - 18 …”

“…The study region also varied, with 6 research investigating both urban and rural areas, 12 - 15 ,17,18 while the other 1 study did not offer this figure. 16 Three surveys utilized a stratified multistage random sampling method to recruit participants and gather demographic data, 12 , 13 , 17 while 2 used convenience sampling, 14 , 18 2 did not specify particular sampling techniques. 15 , 16 Three researches shown both males and females in their analyses, 12 , 13 , 17 100% of participants were pregnant female at hospitals among 3 researches 14 , 15 , 18 , 1 study has not yet provided a sex ratios among non-smokers.…”

Improvement in Compliance With Smoke-Free Environment Regulations at Hotels and Restaurants in Vietnam After an Administrative Intervention

“…19 Our findings are also in line with a study in another province in Vietnam in 2015, which reported that 6.8% of people who had visited food facilities within 30 days prior to the interview noticed tobacco marketing at the restaurants. 20 Although the Law on Tobacco Control requires restaurants and hotels to have "no-smoking signs" in the public areas, this simple regulation was not well complied with, as only 27.7% of hotel reception areas, 16.4% of hotel lobbies, and 10.6% of restaurant dining rooms had these signs before the intervention. The study in Indonesia reported a similar trend; "no-smoking signs" were found in only 11% of hotels and 18% of restaurants.…”

“…19 Our findings are also in line with a study in another province in Vietnam in 2015, which reported that 6.8% of people who had visited food facilities within 30 days prior to the interview noticed tobacco marketing at the restaurants. 20…”

The Implementation Activist: How One Determined Person with a Camera Has Achieved Enforcement of Smoke-Free Laws throughout Thailand

“…Another aspect of the problem is dealing with lack of public awareness. In many LMICs, public awareness about the dangers of secondhand smoke has been found to be low resulting in lower levels of compliance (Ahuja et al, 2018;Dang et al, 2018;Nyi Latt et al, 2018;Robertson et al, 2018). A related problem is the lack of no-smoking and other educational signage.…”