Public awareness of and support for smoke-free legislation in Turkey: a national survey using the lot quality sampling technique

East Mediterr Health J. 2013 Feb;19(2):141-50.

Abstract

Six months after new legislation in Turkey banning smoking in all public places, a national survey was carried out to assess its implementation. This paper summarizes the main findings on the public's awareness of and support for the new law. In a household interview survey of 32 972 adults representative of the Turkish adult population, a high proportion of both non-smokers and current smokers (91.4% and 67.2% respectively) strongly supported the new law. Knowledge about the health hazards of passive smoking and support for the law, however, were relatively lower among smokers than non-smokers. After controlling for smoking status, people with better knowledge about passive smoking were over 5 times more likely to support the new law. Tobacco control activities should be tailored to local needs, with afocus on increasing awareness about the health hazards of passive smoking. The study also demonstrated application of the lot quality sampling technique (LQT) for monitoring tobacco control activities in a national survey.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Awareness
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Data Collection / methods
  • Data Collection / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Lot Quality Assurance Sampling / methods
  • Lot Quality Assurance Sampling / statistics & numerical data*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Sex Distribution
  • Smoking / epidemiology
  • Smoking / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Smoking Cessation / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Smoking Cessation / statistics & numerical data
  • Tobacco Smoke Pollution / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Tobacco Smoke Pollution / statistics & numerical data
  • Turkey / epidemiology
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Tobacco Smoke Pollution