Are Smoking Bans Having the Desired Effect?

A new study carried out by researchers at Ohio State University and subsequently published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour shows how smoking bans in the United States have led to a decrease in social or light smoking amongst young people. Interestingly, the report found that smoking bans do not seem to affect cigarette use amongst women as much as they do amongst men. One result, for example, showed the likelihood of a man smoking within the past 30 days to be 19% for those living in an area without smoking restrictions and only 13% for those living in an area with smoking bans in place. However, the probability for women regardless of where they lived remained at 11%. In any case, these findings are encouraging. As the co-author of the study notes, the work carried out “identifies smoking bans as [a] highly effective policy tool for lawmakers who wish to reduce smoking among young people.”

Click here to read the full study in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour