Smoking in Boston Bars Before and After a 100% Smoke-Free Regulation

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess compliance with Boston's 100% smoke-free bar regulation within the first 3 months of implementation. An observational survey was conducted of a random sample of 102 bars in Boston before and after the smoking ban went into effect. Forty bars were observed both pre- and postban, serving as a true comparison group; 62 additional bars were observed postban only. From preban to postban, highly significant decreases were found in the mean proportion of patrons smoking inside (22.5% to 0.19%, p < 0.0001), in the proportion of bars with smoking patrons (100% to 2.5%, p < 0.0001), and in the average number of ashtrays present in each bar (24 to 0, p < 0.0001). A highly significant increase was found in the average number of "no smoking" signs posted in each bar (0 to 3.3, p < 0.0001). Within the 3 months immediately following the 100% smoke-free bar regulation in Boston, bars were highly compliant with the ban, including not allowing patrons and employees to smoke, removing ashtrays, and posting signs indicating that smoking is prohibited. Therefore, with proper time and preparation, public health practitioners can change social norms before a ban goes into effect and can implement smoke-free policies smoothly and with immediate compliance.

The Austrian Tobacco Act in practice – Analysing the effectiveness of partial smoking bans in Austrian restaurants and bars

“…Bar owners in Boston, for example, did neither hesitate to run nonsmoking premises nor to post an appropriate number of 'no smoking' signs in the bars after a 100% smoke-free regulation had been passed [21]. Almost the same was observed among bar owners in New Zealand [28].…”

“…Many studies have been conducted to examine adherence to total smoking bans in restaurants and bars, but to our knowledge, there are only a few studies analyzing partial bans on smoking and no studies analyzing the specific type of partial ban which is in place in Austria [15,[21][22][23][24].…”

Minnesota tobacco-free park policies: Attitudes of the general public and park officials

“…Within 3 months of adopting smoke-free policies, New York City and Boston reported greater than 90% compliance with the policies (Hyland, Cummings, & Wilson, 1999;Skeer, Cheng, & Siegel, 2004). In the long term, restaurants in California reported 99% compliance, and free-standing bars were slightly lower at 76% compliance with tobaccofree policies (Weber, Bagwell, Fielding, & Glantz, 2003).…”

Implementation of Clean Indoor Air Laws

“…32 A study was conducted of a random sample of 102 bars in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2003. 41 Forty bars were observed preimplementation and 62 bars were observed 3 months postimplementation in 2003. Direct observation of signage, ashtrays, and patrons smoking were obtained.…”

“…[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44] This group included studies from the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. A few studies from California, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina are summarized in the following text.…”