Speaking up about Lighting up in Public: Examining Psychosocial Correlates of Smoking and Vaping Assertive Communication Intentions among U.S. Adults

Abstract

Against a backdrop of increasing smoke-free policies, electronic cigarette use, and discussion about public health risks posed by smoking and vaping, this study examines psychosocial predictors of intentions to ask others not to use e-cigarettes (vape) and smoke - i.e., assertive communication intentions. A national sample of U.S. adults (n = 474) reported assertive communication intentions for public venues. Psychosocial correlates included perceived risks of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHSe) and secondhand vapor (SHVe), SHSe and SHVe attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived self-efficacy. Separate linear regression models were conducted for smoking and vaping assertive communication intention outcomes. Perceived risks and self-efficacy were associated with greater vaping and smoking assertive communication intentions; subjective norms were only significant for vaping assertive communication intentions. Although a majority of respondents indicated they were unlikely to intervene to voice objections about SHSe and SHVe in public venues, this study suggests that incidental or intentional messages and policies that influence perceptions of risk, norms, and efficacy could affect willingness to voice objections about others' vaping and smoking in public.

Student Experiences With Community-Based Enforcement of a Smoke-Free University

“…The themes of Fear, Lack of Authority, and Protect Image suggested the need for such a training to be included into the smoking policy. Granted, the students' feelings in these themes reflect previous research in that people tend to not be assertive enough to confront a smoker (Bigman et al, 2018;Fallin-Bennett et al, 2017;Germain et al, 2007;Niles & Barbour, 2011;Poland et al, 2000), including health care providers at smokefree hospitals (Shipley & Allcock, 2008). At that same time, these feelings may be alleviated to some degree by providing training for the entire campus.…”

“…To address this barrier, campus health professionals should develop ways to train the campus community in how to approach and dialogue with those who smoke on campus (Fallin-Bennett et al, 2017; George Washington University, 2013; Syracuse University, 2015; University of Maryland, 2013). Trainings may help improve campus norms about smoking and feelings of self-efficacy, which have been associated with assertiveness in asking others not to smoke (Bigman et al, 2018). Moreover, the enforcement strategies should be paired with available campus resources, such as smoking cessation treatment and educational marketing about the smoking policy at campus “hot spots.”…”

“…The literature indicates that, in general, people may not be assertive enough to ask a smoker to extinguish a cigarette (Bigman, Mello, Sanders-Jackson, & Tan, 2018; Niles & Barbour, 2011; Germain, Wakefield, & Durkin, 2007; Poland et al, 2000). The most thorough study on a university campus to date on this topic was conducted by Fallin-Bennett et al (2017), in which they interviewed 68 key informants from 16 universities in California that had a range of different enforcement strategies and smoking policies.…”

Safety voice and safety listening during aviation accidents: Cockpit voice recordings reveal that speaking-up to power is not enough

“…This research postulates that individual team members may have critical information (e.g., on risk), and that the free flow of this information contributes to mitigating failures (Westrum, 2014). Because of this, and the harmful consequences of poorly sharing safety information (e.g., Novak, 2019;Kolbe et al, 2012), scholars have distinguished the concept of safety voice and provided a distinct literature (Noort et al, 2019a;Tucker et al, 2008;Conchie et al, 2012;Okuyama et al, 2014;Morrow et al, 2016) that extends beyond organisational environments (e.g., to non-smokers in public settings; Bigman et al, 2019), provides unique empirical data (Noort et al, 2019b), relates tightly to preventing safety emergencies (in contrast to more broad-ranging safety related-communication during 'normal' operation; Noort et al, 2019b), and captures the communication of safety concerns that emerge from perceived risks (e.g., Schwappach and Gehring, 2014a).…”

Testing the Replication and Extension of Why-Quit and How-To-Quit Antismoking Health Messages

“…Nonsmokers were recruited because they are the majority of the population— only 15.5% of US adults currently smoke (Jamal et al, 2018) —and therefore have a higher potential to influence smokers’ thoughts (Ma & Nan, 2017). In addition, they are more motivated to talk about antismoking messages (Dunlop, 2011) and influence smokers’ actions (Bigman, Mello, Sanders-Jackson, & Tan, 2018). Participants’ mean age was 34 (SD = 12), and 57% of participants were female.…”