Awareness about risk factors and attitudes to passive smoking in public places

Abstract

The aim of this descriptive survey was to explore and observe the general public's awareness about the risk factors and attitudes related to passive smoking. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected through questionnaires administered to a convenient sample of 80 subjects from a small, typical Maltese village. The findings supported previous trends locally and in other countries. Almost all respondents were of the opinion that passive smoking is a health hazard and has different negative effects on the human health. The majority of the participants agreed with the no smoking bans in different public places including restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, bars, discotheques, airports, shopping arcades, schools, colleges, universities, public transport and at the place of work. Almost half the participants mentioned the need for smoking rooms or smoking areas, at one time in this study, for those who wish to continue smoking. The findings also show that the majority of the participants are in favour of these new smoking laws that have been introduced in Malta last year (200M. Moreover a few more than half the participants agreed that these new laws are not being followed everywhere due to various reasons. The fact that this study made use of both qualitative and quantitative data is considered as a strength, which helped in exploring this field of study. Towards the end of this study some proposed recommendations for future practice and further research will be illustrated.